Caatinga
The Caatinga is a vegetation zone in het Northeast of Brazil. The word Caatinga is pronounced as "ka-tchin-gaa". It is derived from the Amerindian Tupi-Guarani languages in which it means “white forest”. The caatinga vegetation zone is much drying than the Cerrado.
Climate and vegetation
The Caatinga has a long, dry winter and a short, wet summer. Both seasons are hot. The plants of the Caatinga are adapted to drought. The Caatinga vegetation is dominated by thorn bushes, cactusses and grasses. Trees shed their leaves during the dry period to reduce the amount of moisture that is lost due to transperation. Many plants are annuals that only grow during the short, wet summer.
The Caatinga was once considered to be an area that was poor in species diversity. At nowadays, it becomes more and more clear that the Caatinga is a unique ecosystem with unique plant and animal species. Althought the Caatinga is very dry, some areas are drying than others resulting in different types of Caatinga, ranging from forest to savannah.
Distribution
The Caatinga occupies about 11% of the Brazilian national territory. It is stretched over the Brazilian states of Alagoas, Bahia Ceará, Maranhão, Minas Gerais, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe in a geographical region called sertão.
Threads and conservation
This ecosystem has a low carrying capacity for human activities. Human activities rapidly result in pressure above the levels that this ecosystem can support. For this reason, the Caatinga is prone to desertification.
The Caatinga hosts one of the best know Brazilian national parks: the Parque Nacional da Serra da Capivara. This park does not only conserve many plant and animal species, it is also one of the most important archeological sites of South-America.
See also
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