O wild It is one of the four sub-regions into which the Northeast region. It is made up of municipalities from six Brazilian states and corresponds to a transition zone between the Zona da Mata and the Sertão, respectively the northeastern coast and interior.
This sub-region has a predominantly semiarid, which varies locally according to factors such as the relief, characterized by the Borborema Plateau. Its vegetation presents the characteristics of the caatinga, with some areas of forests and wetlands.
The population of Agreste is the second largest among Northeast sub-regions. Livestock and agriculture are two important economic activities developed locally, with emphasis on tourism. In the region are inserted important cultural, commercial and economic centers of the interior of the Northeast, which gives enormous dynamism to the Agreste.
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Summary about the Agreste
The Agreste is one of the four sub-regions of the Brazilian Northeast.
It is a transition zone between the Zona da Mata and the northeastern Sertão.
It comprises cities in six states in the Northeast, among which are important regional urban centers such as Campina Grande (PB), Caruaru (PE) and Feira de Santana (BA).
Its vegetation presents characteristics of the Caatinga and the Atlantic forest. In the case of forests, they are concentrated in areas of greater humidity, which are the slopes of mountains.
It has some wetlands and marshes known as marshes.
The predominant climate is semi-arid, with milder conditions of temperature and humidity in the higher altitudes.
It is located on a plateau relief, characterized by the unit of Planalto da Borborema.
Due to climate, most of the rivers that run through the Agreste are intermittent.
It is the second most populous sub-region in the Northeast.
The main economic activities developed in the Agreste are the agriculture and the livestock (extensive and dairy). Also noteworthy is the presence of cities that are large industrial and commercial centers in the Northeast.
The socio-cultural, economic and strategic importance of the Agreste is imposed on the local and regional scales.
What is the location of Agreste?
The Agreste is one of the four sub-regions into which the Northeast region of Brazil is divided. It is a narrow transition strip that separates the Zona da Mata from the Sertão, which can also be interpreted as an area that connects the interior to the northeastern coast. The area corresponding to Agreste extends from north to south and comprises municipalities from the north coast of Rio Grande do Norte to the south of Bahia.
What are the cities that are part of the Agreste?
The Agreste sub-region is made up of cities from six states in the Northeast region.
➝ Large northern river: the Potiguar Agreste is formed by a group of 43 municipalities, among which are Caiçara do Norte, Galinhos and São Bento do Norte, which are on the coast of the state.
➝ Paraíba: the Agreste of Paraíba is made up of 66 municipalities. One of the most important cities in the state and also in the Northeast region is part of this set, which is Campina Grande.
➝ Pernambuco: Pernambuco's Agreste is made up of 71 municipalities, among which we can highlight the cities of Caruaru, Garanhuns and Santa Cruz do Capibaribe.
➝ Alagoas: the Alagoan Agreste is formed by 24 municipalities, one of them being Arapiraca.
➝ Sergipe: Sergipe's Agreste is made up of 18 municipalities, among which are Lagarto and Itabaiana, two of the most populous cities in the state.
➝ Bahia: the Agreste of Bahia is generally characterized as part of the territory of identity that also includes the north coast of the state. Together, this territory has 22 municipalities, such as Alagoinhas, the most populous of them. It is still common for the city of Feira de Santana to be listed as part of the Bahian Agreste, which is the second largest city in Bahia and an important regional economic center.
Read too: Map of Brazil — the cartographic representation of the Brazilian territory
Map of the Agreste
On the map in the figure below, the Agreste is the region that appears in pink, between the Zona da Mata, which comprises the northeastern coast (in yellow), and the Sertão (in orange).
What are the characteristics of Agreste?
The Agreste is, as we have seen so far, a transitional region between two areas with very different physiographic aspects, which include climate, vegetation and relief. For this reason, we can identify characteristics of both in the Agreste, which is made up of complex and diverse natural landscapes.
Agreste vegetation
The Agreste is considered an ecotone, which is nothing more than an area of contact and transition between two or more ecosystems many different. SituationThe between the biomes of the Atlantic Forest and the Caatinga, the vegetation that covers the Agreste region is formed both by forests, especially in regions where rainfall is more abundant, as well as the open fields of shrubs, herbs and small trees, which are present in drier areas.
In many areas of the Agreste, it is possible to find wetlands and swamps that contrast with the local landscape. These formations are called brejo.
➝ Flora of the Agreste
The flora of the Agreste is similar to that found in the Caatinga. It consists of xerophytic species, which are adapted to long periods of drought, cacti, small thorny trees with twisted stems, shrubs and herbs. Some of the typical plants of the Agreste and also present in the Caatinga are the xique-xique, the acacia and the mandacaru.
The woods and forests found in the Agreste are formed by trees and deciduous plants, which are those that lose their leaves during the dry season, that is, without rains.
Agreste fauna
As with the flora, the fauna of the Agreste is similar to that observed in the adjacent regions of the Zona da Mata and the Sertão. They are found in the region mammals, rodents, birds, insects, reptiles and other classes of animals. See some of the specimens that live in the northeastern Agreste:
◦ wild dog;
◦ Brown deer;
◦ cavy;
◦ porcupine;
◦ anteater;
◦ skunk;
◦ Spix's Macaw;
◦ white wing;
◦ three-banded armadillo.
Agreste climate
O semi-arid climate is predominant in the Agreste, characterized by high temperatures and long periods of drought, with low annual precipitation (between 250 mm and 750 mm) and rainfall concentrated in a short period of time.
It is important to note, however, that the The region's climate is not homogeneous.. The cities and towns located on the high ground (or mountains) of the Planalto da Borborema experience milder temperatures throughout the year and relatively higher volumes of rainfall than in climate areas semiarid.
Relief of the Agreste
The Agreste is located in a region of land formed by mountains and valleys and whose main relief unit is the Planalto da Borborema, where the altitudes range from 600 to 800 meters on average.
Hydrography of the Agreste
The Agreste sub-region is inserted in three great Brazilian watersheds:
◦ East Northeast Atlantic Basin;
◦ São Francisco Basin;
◦ East Atlantic Basin.
You rivers that run through the states and municipalities of the Agreste are, for the most part, intermittent rivers (temporary), that is, that have water in their courses only during the rainy season, drying in the remainder of the year.
That flood and drought regime is due to the climate predominantly semi-arid region. The only exception is the ri San Francisco, a perennial watercourse and the main river in the Northeast, which cuts through a small stretch of the Agreste before reaching its mouth in the state of Alagoas.
Read too: Why is there drought in the Northeast?
Population of the Agreste
The Agreste is the second most populous sub-region in the Northeast region, second only to Zona da Mata. Its settlement is directly linked to the process of interiorization of the occupation of the Brazilian territory arising from economic activities that were seen as secondary or complementary during the period of Brazil Colony, in particular cattle raising.
During a long period of time, there were still intense migratory flows that left the Sertão towards the sub-regions of Agreste and Zona da Mata of people looking for work during the long droughts conditioned by the climate. In some cases, there was migration definitive, while most records were of temporary migration, with the return of migrants to their region of origin in the rainy season. Today is migration movement commonzAgreste coast towards the Wood zone for work in agricultural crops, such as sugar cane.
Currently, the Agreste it is home to three cities that are part of the list of the 20 most populous municipalities in the Northeast region. See who they are and their respective population, according to IBGE data:
Feira de Santana, in Bahia, with 624,107 inhabitants;
Campina Grande, in Paraíba, with 413,830;
Caruaru, in Pernambuco, with 369,343 inhabitants.
Economy of the Agreste
The Agreste presents great economic diversity. As we have seen, its occupation was motivated by cattle raising. As the population grew, small properties were installed where they also practiced subsistence farming, an activity that, along with dairy farming, is present today in several municipalities in the Agreste region.
Agricultural production is not established only for own consumption. On the contrary, crops and animal husbandry on small and medium-sized properties where family farming is developed, Mainly, they also aim to supply the local and regional market, which includes other sub-regions, such as the Zona da Woods. Among the products produced are milk, fruits, corn, cassava, tomatoes, coffee and vegetables in general.
Cotton is often grown on large properties along with practices such as extensive cattle ranching. O sisal is another very common product to be found in the fields of the Agreste, being a fiber used mainly in handicrafts, an important economic activity driven by tourism in the sub-region in question.
The big cities that we knew before are still important commercial centers and industrial poles in the sub-region and in the Northeast, which makes the economy of the Agreste even more dynamic.
What is the importance of the Agreste?
The importance of the Agreste is expressed on a local and mainly regional scale. It is about a fundamental area for the maintenance of dynamism spatial and socioeconomic of the Northeast, also bringing together important cultural elements of the region.
In addition to the traditional economic and commercial activities that take place there, the sub-region it concentrates great cultural centers and numerous tourist attractions, which range from traditional festivals, such as São João in Campina Grande (PB) and Caruaru (PE), to the landscapes natural and historical sites, which receive thousands of national and international visitors, moving the economy regional. Moreover, it is through the Agreste that the different flows of people, capital and goods between the northeastern coast and interior take place.
image credits
[1] Raphael Lorenzeto de Abreu / Wikimedia Commons
[2] Felipe Brazil / Shutterstock
By Paloma Guitarrara
Geography Teacher
