Caatinga

Coordinates: 6°00′00″S 40°00′00″W / 6.0000°S 40.0000°W / -6.0000; -40.0000

show This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Portuguese. (April 2014) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Portuguese article. Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 1,249 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary Content in this edit is translated from the existing Portuguese Wikipedia article at [[:pt:Caatinga]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|pt|Caatinga}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Caatinga
Caatinga
Map of the Caatinga ecoregion.
Ecology
Realm	Neotropical
Biome	deserts and xeric shrublands
Borders	show List Atlantic Coast restingas Atlantic dry forests Bahia interior forests Caatinga moist-forest enclaves Campos rupestres Cerrado Maranhão Babaçu forests Northeastern Brazil restingas Pernambuco coastal forests Pernambuco interior forests
Geography
Area	730,850 km2 (282,180 sq mi)
Countries	Brazil
States	Alagoas, Bahia, Ceara, Minas Gerais, Paraiba, Pernambuco, Piauí, and Rio Grande do Norte
Coordinates	7°36′46″S 39°26′01″W / 7.612796°S 39.433699°W / -7.612796; -39.433699
Conservation
Conservation status	Vulnerable
Protected	44,133 km² (6%)[1]

Caatinga (Portuguese pronunciation: [ka.ɐˈtʃĩɡɐ], locally [ka.aˈtĩɡɐ]) is a type of subtropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (caa = forest, vegetation, tinga = white).

The Caatinga is a xeric shrubland and thorn forest, which consists primarily of small, thorny trees that shed their leaves seasonally. Cacti, thick-stemmed plants, thorny brush, and arid-adapted grasses make up the ground layer. Most vegetation experiences a brief burst of activity during the three-month long rainy season.

Caatinga falls entirely within earth's tropical zone and is one of 6 major ecoregions of Brazil. It covers 850,000 km², nearly 10% of Brazil's territory. It is home to 26 million people^[2] and over 2000 species of plants, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals.

The Caatinga is the only exclusively Brazilian biome, which means that a large part of its biological heritage cannot be found anywhere else on the planet.

Geography[]

The Caatinga covers the interior portion of northeastern Brazil bordering the Atlantic seaboard (save for a fringe of Atlantic Forest), extending across nine states: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, and parts of Minas Gerais. Altogether, the Caatinga comprises 850,000 km², about 10% of the surface area of Brazil.^[3] By comparison, it is over nine times the surface area of Portugal, whence came Brazil's early European settlers, and 20% larger than the U.S. state of Texas.

Approximate vegetation map of Brazil. The Caatinga is brown.

Located between 3°S 45°W and 17°S 35°W, the Caatinga experiences irregular winds from all directions. Rainfall is thus intermittent but intense, totalling 20–80 cm (7.9–31.5 in) on average.^[4] Although the climate is typically hot and semi-arid, the Caatinga includes several enclaves of humid tropical forest,^[5] with trees 30–35 m (98–115 ft) tall.^[4]

Chapada Diamantina in Bahia state, in Brazil

To the northwest, the Caatinga is bounded by the Maranhão Babaçu forests; to the west and southwest, the Atlantic dry forests and Cerrado savannas; to the east, the humid Atlantic coastal forests; and to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean.

Climate[]

The Caatinga has only two distinguishable seasons: a hot and dry winter, and a cold and rainy summer. During the dry winter periods there is no foliage or undergrowth, as plants try to conserve water. Roots protrude through the surface of the stony soil, to absorb water before it is evaporated. Leaves fall off the trees to reduce transpiration.^[4] With all the foliage and undergrowth dead during the drought periods and all the trees having no leaves the Caatinga has a yellow-grey, desert-like look. During the peak periods of drought the Caatinga's soil can reach temperatures of up to 60 °C.

Common rock formations in the caatinga, during the rainy season.

Brazilian soldiers training in the caatinga.

The drought usually ends in December or January, when the rainy season starts. Immediately after the first rains, the grey, desert-like landscape starts to transform and becomes completely green within a few days. Small plants start growing in the now moist soil and trees grow back their leaves. Rivers that are mostly dry during the past 6 or 7 months start to fill up and streams begin to flow again.^[5]

Caatinga during the rainy season.

Ecology[]

Caatinga harbors a unique biota, with thousands of endemic species. Caatinga contains over 1,000 vascular plant species in addition to 187 bees, 240 fish species, 167 reptiles and amphibians, 516 birds, and 148 mammal species, with endemism levels varying from 9 percent in birds to 57 percent in fishes.^[6]

Vegetation[]

The Caatinga does not correspond to a single type of vegetation, but rather a broad mosaic. Nonetheless, all vegetative structure is adapted to the xeric climate. Succulent and crassulaceous species dominate; non-succulents exhibit small, firm leaves and intense branching at the base, akin to shrubs. Palm stands usually contain carnaúba or babaçu palms, but occasionally tucumã and macaúba.

The Caatinga has enough endemic species to constitute a floristic province.

Cereus jamacaru

Most authors divide the Caatinga into two different subtypes: dry ("sertão") and humid ("agreste"), but categorizations vary to as many as eight different vegetative regimes.^[4]

Caatinga landscape.

Fauna[]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Pseudoseisura cristata, an endemic species.

The Caatinga is home to nearly 50 endemic species of birds, including Lear's macaw (Anodorhynchus leari), Spix's macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii),^{[Note 1]} moustached woodcreeper (Xiphocolaptes falcirostris), Caatinga parakeet, Caatinga antwren, Sao Francisco black tyrant and Caatinga cacholote.^{[Note 2]}

Endemic mammal species include:

• eleven rodents - Caatinga vesper mouse, Wiedomys pyrrhorhinos, Trinomys yonenagae, Trinomys albispinus minor, Trinomys albispinus sertonius, Thylamys karimii, Dasyprocta sp. n., Oryzomys sp. n., Oxymycterus sp. n., Rhipidomys sp. n. ssp. 1, and Rhipidomys sp. n. ssp. 2
• one primate - Callicebus barbarabrownae
• two bats - Xeronycteris vieirai and Chiroderma sp. n

Possible anthropogenic origins[]

Based on radiocarbon dating of potsherds, proponents of historical ecology such as William Denevan and William Balee have suggested that large sections of the Caatinga region may be of anthropogenic origin. Over 1000 years ago, native peoples may have unintentionally created the environment of the modern-day Caatinga through constant slash-and-burn agriculture, thereby stymying plant succession and preventing major rainforests from growing within the region.^[7]

Conversely, fossil evidence suggests that the Caatinga may historically have been part of a much larger dry belt.^[4][5]

Conservation[]

The Caatinga is poorly represented in the Brazilian Conservation Area network, with only 1% in Integral Protection Conservation Areas and 6% in Sustainable Use Conservation Areas.^[6] Protected areas include Chapada Diamantina National Park, Serra da Capivara National Park, and Serra das Confusões National Park.

Economic developed has fragmented the native biome. Estimates on the amount of Caatinga transformed affected by economic development range 25-50%, making Caatinga the most degraded ecosystem in Brazil, following the Atlantic Forest, which has lost over 80% of its original cover.^[5]

Economic exploitation[]

Opuntia spp (locally known in Portuguese as "palma", actually a cactus, thus not closely related to the family Arecaceae) plantation in the caatinga

The local population lives in extreme poverty, and many rely on extraction of natural resources for a livelihood.^[4][8] There are few drinkable water sources, and harvesting is difficult because of the irregular rainfall.

Agriculture[]

Native plants are used in local agriculture, much of it slash-and-burn.^[5] appears to exhibit medicinal properties. The fruits of umbú and mangabá are used as food directly, and other species are used for forage. Local palms produce commercial-grade lauric and oleic oils, which undergirds much of the economy of northeast Brazil.^[4]

Meliponiculture is also a well-developed and traditional activity in the region.^[9] One of the most productive species, Melipona subnitida, known locally as jandaíra, produces up to 6 liters a year, resulting in economic profit for the population.^[10]

Irrigation along the São Francisco River promises to turn the region into a breadbasket. The soil is very fertile, and existing irrigation infrastructure already supports the export of grapes, papayas and melons. At the same time, irrigation threatens to salinize the soil.^[4]

Grazing[]

Cattle (Guzerá and Red Sindhi cattle) and goat farming are popular and very productive in the region.^[11][12] Overgrazing and timbering for fuelwood have decimated local vegetative populations; outside irrigated regions, the area has begun to desertify à la Sahara and Sahel.

See also[]

On Caatinga[]

• Caatinga moist-forest enclaves
• Northeastern Brazil
• Sertão
• List of plants of Caatinga vegetation of Brazil

The five other major ecoregions of Brazil[]

• Amazon Basin
• Pantanal
• Cerrado
• Atlantic Forest
• Pampas

Notes[]

References[]

Further reading[]

• Llosa, Mario Vargas - The War of the End of the World

Historical biogeographic surveys[]

• Marcgrav (1638)
• Spix & Martius (1817-1820)

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Caatinga.

• "Caatinga". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
• IBAMA
• Brazil Nature
• Caatinga: Brazilian national heritage threatened
• Associação Mãe-da-lua The Avifauna of northeastern Brazil