São Donato Biological Reserve () is a wetlands

biological reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

established by the state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

, Brazil.

History

The biological reserve was created by decree in 1975 to support conservation of ecosystems, scientific research and environmental education. The reserve includes parts of the municipalities of

Itaqui Itaqui is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in Brazil, located in the southwestern part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, close to the Argentina, Argentinian border, between Uruguaiana and São Borja. It sits at a mean altitude of 57 me ...

and Maçambara. It covers part of one of the last wetland areas of Rio Grande do Sul and is important for several endangered species. There was an ongoing struggle to make the reserve a reality. Implementation only began in 2001. The headquarters of the reserve were inaugurated in May 2002. In December 2003 the State Department of the Environment presented an environmental assessment and proposed limits for the reserve at a public hearing.

Environment

The reserve is located along the lower courses of the Butuí River, a tributary of the

Uruguay River The Uruguay River ( ; ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La Mesopotamia from the other two countr ...

, about from

São Borja São Borja is a city in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. São Borja is the oldest municipality in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and was founded in 1682 by the Jesuits as the first of the Seven Places of the Missions, and na ...

. It takes up about 60% of the area of wetlands, with the remainder used for rice fields and flooded pastures. The wetlands hold a mosaic of tall, dense herbaceous plant communities, in which sedge Scirpus giganteus predominates, along with other marsh plants such as

Cyperus giganteus ''Cyperus giganteus'' (also known as piripiri) is a perennial herbaceous plant. It belongs to the genus ''Cyperus''. Its native range extends from Jalisco in west-central Mexico as far south as Uruguay, and also grows on some islands in the Carib ...

(Cyperaceae),

Thalia geniculata ''Thalia geniculata'', the bent alligator-flag, arrowroot, or fire-flag, is a plant species widespread across tropical Africa and much of the Americas. ''Thalia geniculata'' is native to a large region in Africa, from Senegal in the west to Sud ...

(Marantaceae), Panicum grumosum and Panicum prionitis (Poaceae). The area is used for breeding by many aquatic birds, particularly maguari stork (Ciconia maguari) and snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis). Important bird species observed in the reserve include

greater rhea The greater rhea (''Rhea americana'') is a species of flightless bird native to eastern South America. Other names for the greater rhea include the grey, common, or American rhea; ema (Portuguese (language), Portuguese); or ñandú (Guaraní lang ...

(Rhea americana),

sulphur-bearded reedhaunter The sulphur-bearded reedhaunter or sulphur-throated spinetail (''Limnoctites sulphuriferus'') is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. Taxonomy and sy ...

(Limnoctites sulphuriferus), marsh seedeater (Sporophila palustris and Sporophila zelichi) and chestnut seedeater (Sporophila cinnamomea).

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Donato Biological Reserve Biological reserves of Brazil Protected areas of Rio Grande do Sul Protected areas established in 1975 1975 establishments in Brazil