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Pantanal | |||||||||
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The Pantanal is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and portions of Bolivia and Paraguay. It sprawls over an area estimated at between 140,000 and 195,000 square kilometres (54,000 and 75,000 sq mi). Various subregional ecosystems exist, each with distinct hydrological, geological and ecological characteristics; up to 12 of them have been defined (RADAMBRASIL 1982) Roughly 80% of the Pantanal floodplains are submerged during the rainy seasons, nurturing an astonishing biologically diversecollection of aquatic plants and helping to support a dense array of animal species. The name "Pantanal" comes from the Portuguese word pântano, meaning wetland, bog, swamp, quagmire or marsh. By comparison, the Brazilian highlands are locally referred to as the planalto, plateau or, literally, high plain.
Flora Main article: List of plants of Pantanal vegetation of Brazil The vegetation of the Pantanal, often referred to as the "Pantanal complex", is a mixture of plant communities typical of a variety of surrounding biome regions: these include moist tropical Amazonian rainforest plants, semiarid woodland plants typical of northeast Brazil, Brazilian cerrado savanna plants and plants of the Chaco savannas of Bolivia and Paraguay.[2] Forests usually occur at higher altitudes of the region, while grasslands cover the seasonally inundated areas. The key limiting factors for growth are inundation and, even more importantly, water-stress during the dry season.[2] The Pantanal ecosystem is home to 3500 known plant species.
Fauna The Pantanal ecosystem is also thought to be home to 1000 bird species, 400 fish species, 300 mammalian species, 480 reptile species and over 9000 different subspecies of invertebrates. The apple snail is a keystone species in Pantanal's ecosystem. When the wetlands are flooded once a year, the grass and other plants will eventually die and start to decay. During this process, decomposing microbes deplete the shallow water of all oxygen, suffocating larger decomposers. Unlike other decomposing animals, the apple snail have both gills and lungs, making it possible for them to thrive in anoxic waters where they recycle the nutrients. To get oxygen, they extend a long snorkel to the water surface, pumping air into their lungs. This ability allows them to consume all the dead plant matter and turn it into nutritious fertilizer available for the plants in the area. The snails themselves are also food for a variety of animals
Among the rarest animals to inhabit the wetland of the Pantanal are the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) and the giant river otter (Pteroneura brasiliensis). Parts of the Pantanal are also home to the following endangered or threatened species: the hyacinth macaw (Anodorhyncus hyacinthinus) (a bird endangered due to smuggling), the crowned solitary eagle, the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), the bush dog (Speothos venaticus), the South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris) and the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). Common species in the Pantanal include the capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) and the yacare caiman (Caiman yacare). According to 1996 data, there were 10 million caimans in the Pantanal, making it the highest concentration of crocodilians in the World.[10] The Pantanal is home to one of the largest and healthiest jaguar (Panthera onca) populations on Earth.
Most fish are detritivores, primarily ingesting fine particles from sediments and plant surfaces This is characteristic of fish living in South American flood-plains in general. Fish migration between river channels and flood-plain regions occurs seasonally.[2] These fish have many adaptations that allow them to survive in the oxygen-depleted flood-plain waters.[2] In addition to the caiman, some of the reptiles that inhabit the Pantanal are the yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus), the gold tegu (Tupinambis teguixin), the red-footed tortoise(Geochelone carbonaria) and the green iguana (Iguana iguana).
PANTANAL – POCONÉ Poconé is a municipality in the state of Mato Grosso in the Central-West Region of Brazil.[1] The municipality contains part of the Taiamã Ecological Station.[5] The municipality contains 57% of the 108,960 hectares (269,200 acres) Encontro das Águas State Park, created in 2004.
Barão de Melgaço is a municipality in the state of Mato Grosso in the Central-West Region of Brazil The municipality contains 43% of the 108,960 hectares (269,200 acres) Encontro das Águas State Park, created in 2004
Cáceres is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It covers an area of 24,000km2 and as of 2014 had an estimated population of 90,000. The town is sited on the Paraguay River, and hosts a popular fishing festival each September. The municipality contains part of the Serra das Araras Ecological Station. It also contains part of the Taiamã Ecological Station. The municipality contains the 114,000 hectares (280,000 acres) Guirá State Park, created in 2002.[6] Cáceres was the starting point of the Roosevelt–Rondon Scientific Expedition Cáceres is the administrative headquarters of the Mato Grosso State University and counts with 13 graduation courses and 3 post graduation courses. | ||||||||
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