National Day of thick is celebrated today, September 11th. The date was created to value the second largest biome in Brazil and South America.
Known as the Brazilian savanna, the Cerrado occupies approximately 25% of the country's territory. The biome covers 12 states, with a predominance of central areas of Brazil.
Remembered for its rich biodiversity, the Cerrado has a large number of species and landscapes. The vegetation is characteristic, with trees that are not very tall, with tortuous trunks and that lose leaves during the dry season.
The biome, which is characterized by two defined seasons: one dry and one rainy, is also known as Brazil's water tank.
Where is Cerrado located?
The Cerrado has a unique characteristic, according to This article: it is the only biome in South America to have these biogeographic contacts: it is limited to the north with the Amazon biome; to the east and northeast, with the Caatinga; to the southwest, with the Pantanal; and to the southeast, with the Atlantic Forest.
The Cerrado biome is found in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Maranhão, Piauí, Rondônia, Paraná, São Paulo and the Federal District and some enclaves (land or territory within another) in Amapá, Amazonas and Roraima.
The countries Paraguay and Bolivia also have Cerrado characteristics.
Characteristics of the Cerrado
The characteristics of the Cerrado biome involve its great biodiversity and can be assessed in Biology entrance exams and Enem, for example.
André Luis S. Zecchin, biologist, manager of the Serra do Tombador Natural Reserve, in Cavalcante (GO), maintained by the Fundação Grupo Boticário, states that the Cerrado is the only biome with characteristics of the Savanna in Brazil.
"The Cerrado is the biome with the largest number of species, the richest in the world. We often say that the Cerrado is only what it is because of its diversity of landscapes, species and traditional peoples that are associated with it"
André Zechin
Data of this article detail that the Cerrado has around 11,627 species of native plants, of which approximately 4,400 are endemic species (existing only in this biome).
See below the main characteristics of the Cerrado.
The vegetation has predominant characteristics such as trees with thick and tortuous trunks, as well as grasses and shrubs.
The climate is seasonal tropical, with two defined seasons: a dry and a rainy season.
You Cerrado soils They are generally poor in nutrients, presenting a reddish color and high porosity.
It has 11 main vegetation types, distributed in savanna, grassland and forest formations.
The fauna is quite diverse, with species such as jaguars and giant anteaters.
Among the main agricultural products grown in the biome are soybeans, sugar cane, corn and cotton.
The Cerrado has around 200 native species that have economic and medicinal potential
It is considered the Brazilian water tank.
Read too: what the fauna and flora of the Cerrado are like
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Cerrado, Brazil's water tank
Biologist André Zecchin highlights that, because of its rich landscapes, especially open fields, the Cerrado is known as Brazil's water tank, as it fulfills the very large water recharge function for Brazil.
The manager explains that, because the Cerrado is located in a more central and higher region of Brazil, its formations rural areas have a very good capacity to absorb rainwater and, consequently, to recharge water from the sheets phreatics.
"The position of the Cerrado, with its vegetation characteristics, makes the biome the great water tank of the Brazil, which is a function of water recharge and supply of the main hydrographic basins that we have in country"
André Zechin
Deforestation of the Cerrado
Deforestation of the Cerrado is an environmental problem that has promoted the destruction of the biome. Data collected by biologist André Zecchin indicate that the greatest deforestation is found in regions of the states of Maranhão, Tocantins and Piauí.
The professional highlights that, despite the Cerrado being the second Brazilian biome with the greatest natural coverage (approximately 50%), second only to the Amazon, it is the biome that suffers most rapidly from the logging.
"The Cerrado is the easiest biome to deforest because it is an environment that does not have many forest areas and does not have many physical barriers to the expansion of the agricultural frontier. The Cerrado can be deforested overnight and, as a result, agriculture and livestock farming advances very quickly over the remaining areas of this biome", he explains.
Among the reasons for the deforestation of the Cerrado are:
Soil transformation
Large soybean and corn plantations
Cattle breeding
Read more about deforestation in the Cerrado
How to conserve the Cerrado?
André Luis S. Zecchin, biologist, manager of the Serra do Tombador Natural Reserve, in Cavalcante (GO), maintained by the Fundação Grupo Boticário, believes that there are two ways to conserve the Cerrado biome:
-Creation and maintenance of protected areas: "The public authorities that have the tools to create conservation units or indigenous and quilombola territories", believes
-Alternative solutions: "Measures different from the conventional ones adopted by economic activities that adopt good practices, such as agroforestry systems and optimization of land use, for example, without the need to deforest the soil to generate recipes", he says.
Image credits
[1] Shuttestock
[2] Personal file
By Silvia Tancredi
Journalist
