The Juatinga Ecological Reserve () is an

ecological 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 ...

in the state of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil. It protects a rugged peninsula projecting into the Atlantic Ocern that is mainly covered by Atlantic Forest, and also helps maintain the traditional lifestyle of residents of small villages along the coast.

Location

The Juatinga Ecological Reserve is in the municipality of

Paraty Paraty (or Parati, ) is a preserved Portuguese colonial (1500–1822) and Brazilian Imperial (1822–1889) municipality with a population of about 43,000. The name "Paraty" originates from the local Guaianá Indians' indigenous Tupi language, ...

, Rio de Janeiro. It has an area of . It is contained within the

Cairuçu Environmental Protection Area Cairuçu Environmental Protection Area () is a protected area in the south of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. It contains an important remnant of the Atlantic Forest biome. Location Cairuçu Environmental Protection Area lie ...

. The reserve is part of the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve. The reserve protects a peninsula in the extreme east of the municipality that projects into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. The Juatinga peninsula is in the northern Ribeira belt. The reserve has rugged terrain, located where the

Serra do Mar The Serra do Mar (; ) is a system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeastern Brazil. Geography The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state of Espírito Santo to southern Santa Ca ...

meets the coastal plain, with elevations that range from sea level to over . It has granitoid rocks from the

Proterozoic The Proterozoic ( ) is the third of the four geologic eons of Earth's history, spanning the time interval from 2500 to 538.8 Mya, and is the longest eon of Earth's geologic time scale. It is preceded by the Archean and followed by the Phanerozo ...

and sediments from the

Cenozoic The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...

. The most common type of soil is ''Háplico''

cambisol A Cambisol in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is a soil in the beginning of soil formation. The horizon differentiation is weak. This is evident from weak, mostly brownish discolouration and/or structure formation in the soil pro ...

, and there is also red-yellow

latosol Latosols, also known as tropical red earth, are soils found under tropical rainforests which have a relatively high content of iron and aluminium oxides. They are typically classified as oxisols (USDA soil taxonomy) or ferralsols (World Reference ...

and humic cambisol.

History

The reserve is in area where there has been intense pressure on the land from speculators and squatters. The Juatinga Ecological Reserve was created by state decree 17.981 of 30 October 1992. It is home to about 400 families, or 2,000 people, living in basic conditions in small coastal villages. It was created to promote the

caiçaras Caiçaras () are a people who inhabit the coastlines of the Brazil, Brazilian states of Paraná (state), Paraná, São Paulo (state), São Paulo and Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, and the municipalities of Paraty and Angra dos Reis, in the ...

culture of the residents of the reserve, reconciling their life style with conservation of the environment.

Environment

The region has a tropical humid climate with a distinct rainy season. Annual rainfall ranges from . The Juatinga Ecological Reserve protects submontane and montane tropical rainforest,

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s and restinga. Vegetation is mainly dense rainforest. Some areas contain vegetation in different stages of succession, including agricultural fields, scrub and secondary growth. A 2014 study of the ''Laranjeiras-Praia do Sono'' and ''Praia do Sono-Praia de Antigos'' trails in the south of the reserve found that one of the trails was somewhat degraded, and had ravine erosions in several places. The primary rainforest at higher elevations protects threatened species such as the

southern muriqui The southern muriqui (''Brachyteles arachnoides'') is a muriqui (woolly spider monkey) species endemic to Brazil. Taxonomy Taxonomy of muriquis is controversial because some scientists believe that they are a monotypic genus while others favor ...

(''Brachyteles arachnoides'') and the

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

(''Panthera onca''). The State Environmental Institute (INEA) arranged a weekend bird watching event in the reserve in August 2016 to raise environmental awareness. About twenty participants recorded 106 bird species.

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Juatinga Ecological Reserve Ecological reserves of Brazil Protected areas established in 1992 1992 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of Rio de Janeiro (state)