The Araucaria moist forests, officially classified as mixed ombrophilous forest (Portuguese: "Floresta Ombrófila Mista") in Brazil, are a

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

. The forest ecosystem is located in southern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and northeastern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. The ecoregion is a southern portion of the

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

. The ecoregion also includes select areas of open field called "campos de cima da serra" or "coxilhas" (highland fields).

Setting

The moist forests cover an area of , encompassing a region of mountains and plateaus in the Brazilian states of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a state in the southern region of Brazil. It is the fifth-most-populous state and the ninth largest by area. Located in the southernmost part of the country, Rio Grande do Sul is border ...

, and extending into

Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes ...

. The ecoregion lies above , rising to elevation on the high slopes of the

Serra Geral The Serra Geral (General Mountains) is a mountain range in southern Brazil, constituting the southern portion of the Serra do Mar system which runs along Brazil's southeastern coast. The Serra Geral runs parallel to the Atlantic coast in Sant ...

. The ecoregion is bounded by the

Alto Paraná Atlantic forests The Alto Paraná Atlantic forests, also known as the Paraná-Paraíba interior forests, is an ecoregion of the tropical moist forests biome, and the South American Atlantic Forest biome. It is located in southern Brazil, northeastern Argentina, ...

to the north, west, and south, the

Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the ...

savannas and shrublands to the northeast, The

Serra do Mar coastal forests The Serra do Mar coastal forests is an ecoregion of the tropical moist forests biome. It is part of the Atlantic Forest of eastern South America. This ecoregion has an outstanding biodiversity consisting of flora, mammals, birds, and herpetofaun ...

to the east, and the Uruguayan savanna to the southwest.

Climate

The Araucaria moist forests have an oceanic temperate climate ( ''Cfb''), with frequent

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a g ...

s during the winter months and considerable

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughou ...

falls (generally light) in the highest areas. Annual precipitation is high, ranging from , without a

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...

Flora

The ecoregion mostly consists of evergreen subtropical moist forests, with a canopy made up of the broadleaved trees ''

Ocotea pretiosa ''Ocotea odorifera'' is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is an evergreen tree in the genus ''Ocotea''. It is commonly known as Brazilian sassafras or American cinnamon; though it is not a true sassafras nor a true cinnamon, these ...

'', '' O. catharinense'', and '' O. porosa'' (

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ). They are dicotyledons, and occur m ...

), ''

Campomanesia xanthocarpa ''Campomanesia'' is a genus in the family Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and euca ...

'' (

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All sp ...

), and ''

Mimosa scabrella ''Mimosa scabrella'' is a tree in the family Fabaceae. It is very fast-growing and it can reach a height of tall in only 3 years. Its trunk is about in diameter. It has yellow flowers. Biology ''Mimosa scabrella'' (Bracatinga) is a tree in ...

'' and '' Parapiptadenia rigida'' (both

Leguminosae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

). The conifer Brazilian araucaria (''Araucaria angustifolia'') forms an

emergent layer Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

, growing up to in height. The forests are significant from an evolutionary perspective, as a relict of mixed coniferous and broadleaved forests that were once much more widespread, and are home to many taxa characteristic of the

Antarctic flora Antarctic flora are a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana. Presently, species of Antarctica flora reside on several now separated areas of the Southern Hemisphere, includin ...

Fauna

The ecoregion is home to several threatened species endemic to the Atlantic forests, including the brown howler monkey (''Alouatta guariba'') and the red-spectacled parrot (''Amazona pretrei''). The Araucaria moist forests is recognized as an important

endemic bird area An Endemic Bird Area (EBA) is an area of land identified by BirdLife International as being important for habitat-based bird conservation because it contains the habitats of restricted-range bird species (''see below for definition''), which are th ...

Conservation and threats

The Araucaria moist forests are within the

Biome (''Mata Atlântica''), which is recognized as a

biodiversity hotspot A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the c ...

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and communities. The org ...

, and as a

Global 200 The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or w ...

ecoregion by the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the W ...

. 4.757 of the ecoregion is in

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

s. Protected areas include

Aparados da Serra National Park The Aparados da Serra National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional de Aparados da Serra) is a national park located in the Serra Geral range of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina states in the south of Brazil, between 29º07’—29º15’ S and 50º01 ...

, Araucárias National Park, Campos Gerais National Park,

Guaricana National Park The Guaricana National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional Guaricana) is a national park in the state of Paraná, Brazil. It protects a mountainous area holding a remnant of Atlantic Forest. Location The Guaricana National Park covers parts of the munici ...

Iguaçu National Park Iguaçu National Park () is a national park in Paraná State, Brazil. It comprises a total area of and a length of about , of which are natural borders by bodies of water and the Argentine and Brazilian sides together comprise around . Iguaç ...

, São Joaquim National Park,

Serra Geral National Park Serra Geral National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional da Serra Geral) is a national park in the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, Brazil. Location Serra Geral National Park is in the Atlantic Forest biome. It cove ...

, and Serra do Itajaí National Park.

References

External links

* {{coord missing, Brazil Atlantic Forest Neotropical tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Ecoregions of Argentina Ecoregions of Brazil Forests of Brazil . Natural history of Argentina Environment of São Paulo (state) Environment of Paraná (state) Environment of Santa Catarina (state) Environment of Rio Grande do Sul Geography of Misiones Province