18 Facts About Cerrado

1.

Cerrado is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goias, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District.

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2.

The main habitat types of the Cerrado consist of forest savanna, wooded savanna, park savanna and gramineous-woody savanna.

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3.

Since then vast amounts of research have proved that the Cerrado is one of the richest of all tropical savanna regions and has high levels of endemism.

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4.

Cerrado's climate is typical of the wetter savanna regions of the world, with a semi-humid tropical climate.

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5.

The Cerrado is limited to two dominant seasons throughout the year: Wet and dry.

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6.

Much of the Cerrado is dominated by the Vochysiaceae due to the abundance of three species in the genus Qualea.

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7.

Cerrado soils are always well-drained and most are oxisols with low pH and low calcium and magnesium.

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8.

Cerrado vegetation is believed to be ancient, stretching back perhaps as far in a prototypic form as the Cretaceous, before Africa and South America separated.

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9.

Ameiva ameiva is among the largest lizards found in the Cerrado and is the most important lizard predator where it is found in the Cerrado.

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10.

Information about Cerrado amphibians is extremely limited, although the Cerrado probably has a unique assemblage of species with some endemic to the region.

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11.

Gallery forests serve as primary habitat for most of the mammals in the Cerrado, having more water, being protected from fires that sweep the landscape and having a more highly structured habitat.

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12.

Until the mid-1960s, agricultural activities in the Cerrado were very limited, since natural cerrado soils are not fertile enough for crop production, directed mainly at the extensive production of beef cattle for subsistence of the local market.

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13.

Cerrado was thought challenging for agriculture until researchers at Brazil's agricultural and livestock research agency, Embrapa, discovered that it could be made fit for industrial crops by appropriate additions of phosphorus and lime.

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14.

Large extensions of the Cerrado are used for the production of cellulose pulp for the paper industry, with the cultivation of several species of eucalyptus and pines, but as a secondary activity.

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15.

Coffee produced in the Cerrado is a major export.

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16.

Cerrado biome is strategic for the water resources of Brazil.

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17.

Cerrado is the second largest biome in South America and the most biodiverse savanna in the world.

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18.

One issue with expanding this reserve is that research needs to be done to choose the location of these reserves because the Cerrado biome is floristically very heterogeneous and constitutes a biological mosaic.

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