Characteristics of the Cerrado Biome
Small trees, twisted trunks, thick bark and leaves. When talking about characteristics of thick, these are the first features that come to anyone's mind, but this Biome is much more than grass covered shrubs and plateaus.
Map and Location
O Cerrado is the second largest Brazilian Biome, behind only the Amazon Forest. It is present in the regions North, North East, Midwest and Southeast, with the Midwest being the region with the highest percentage of its coverage comprised by the Biome.
Animals from the Cerrado biome
As it is an environment with very peculiar characteristics, the Cerrado includes several equally unique species, among the most famous being the Guara wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) it's the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla).
The cerrado has several endemic species, that is, they only occur in the Cerrado and in no other Biome, such as the cockerel (tricolor alectrus) it's the parrot (Aliopsitta xanthops).
Vegetation in the Cerrado Biome
THE Cerrado flora it is one of its most striking characteristics and responsible for the plants we remember when we talk about Cerrado characteristics.
Although we remember characteristics such as small trees, with twisted trunk and thick bark, the cerrado has several different vegetation formations, ranging from clear fields, where there are only grasses and rarely small shrubs, to very peculiar forest formations such as the paths and their leafy trees. buritis.
Among the best known plants are the peki (Caryocar brasiliensis) it's the barbatimão (striphnodendron astringgens).
Fire in the Cerrado
The Cerrado has a very peculiar relationship with a factor that in other places would be strictly destructive, fire. Despite being considered a negative factor, fire is something so frequent in the Cerrado that some of its adaptive characteristics were selected to tolerate and even take advantage of fire.
As mentioned before, plants have strong adaptations that protect them and prevent them from dying during fires, such as bark and thick leaves. However, some plants do benefit. Some plants, in their seed, have a resource that protects them, a casing that can only be broken by fire.
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This casing protects the plant embryo for months until the fire breaks this dormancy and the embryo finds conditions to germinate. Fire is also responsible for the emergence of various plants in a slightly more indirect way.
The growing accumulation of plant biomass in the Cerrado may prevent other plants from growing or even germinating, due to suffocation. Dry leaves and grasses accumulate so much that they cover the ground, preventing smaller plants from accessing the sun. Thus, fire considerably reduces this biomass, providing space for young plants to develop better.
However we are talking about fire caused by natural causes, which can be harmful in equal or more often than not beneficial. Man-made fire is always a negative factor.
A HOTSPOT in Central Brazil
The Cerrado, together with the Atlantic forest, are classified as biodiversity hotspots due to the high number of endemic species (both animals and plants) and the high degree of human disturbance that we have caused to it.
The Cerrado is currently one of the most threatened biomes in Brazil. The exploration culture vertiginously destroys areas and areas of the Cerrado every year, and if nothing is done, in a few years the savannas Brazilian savannas will be a simple memory, in contrast to the glorious and so admired by us, African savannas.
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