The Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (RPPN) of University of Santa Cruz do Sul (Unisc) is a

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 ...

created in 2009, through Ordinance nº 16, of March 18, having an area of 221,39 hectares, being nowadays one of the largest protected area of this category ( RPPN) in

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 st ...

state, Brazil. This preservation area is within 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 ...

Biome and the predominant vegetation is the seasonal deciduous forest. Salto Rio Pardinho

Location

The Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (RPPN) of University of Santa Cruz do Sul is located in municipality of

Sinimbu Sinimbu is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, 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 ...

state, Brazil, distant about 48 km north of municipality of Santa Cruz do Sul. Unfortunately it is the only RPPN present in the highlands

scarp Scarp may refer to: Landforms and geology * Cliff, a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure * Escarpment, a steep slope or long rock that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevatio ...

region in this state, although the creation of Preservation Areas in this region in order to protect the last primary forest fragments of this region had been suggested years ago.

Characteristics

Created in 2009 and having an area of 221.39 hectares, the Reserve is within an ecotone between the seasonal deciduous forest and the Araucaria moist forest. Altitude vary from 150 m eastwards, at the

Pardinho river The Pardinho River is a river located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and ...

riverbed A stream bed or streambed is the bottom of a stream or river (bathymetry) or the physical confine of the normal water flow (channel). The lateral confines or channel margins are known as the stream banks or river banks, during all but flood st ...

and 650 m at hilltops. The reserve is within the

Biome, having a seasonal deciduous forest predominantly

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

once the former residents used a good part of the local's natural resources by removing vegetation and livestock practice. Less impacted areas were left on hillsides due to its topographic conditions.

Research

Despite being created only in 2009, research activities began in 2006 resulting quali-quantitative publications about the local and regional fauna and flora: - Mammalian fauna of medium and large size. - Avifauna - Trees

Flora

Until 2010, 149 native species and 11 exotic species of trees were found in the area and surroundings, where, among the exotic species, five are considered

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

and need urgent control measures. The arboreal vegetation is characterized by presenting species from the seasonal deciduous forest and from the Araucaria moist forest. The reserve is home for 12

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

according to the lists of Threatened Species of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazilian Endangered Species and

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Red List: ''

Araucaria angustifolia ''Araucaria angustifolia'', the Paraná pine, Brazilian pine or candelabra tree (, or ), is a critically endangered species in the conifer genus '' Araucaria''. Although the common names in various languages refer to the species as a "pine", it d ...

'' (Bertol.) Kuntze, ''

Gochnatia polymorpha ''Gochnatia polymorpha'', the candeia or cambará, is a South American tree species in the family Asteraceae, native to Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=n ...

'' (Less.) Cabrera, ''

Maytenus aquifolium ''Maytenus aquifolium'', the espinheira-santa, is an endemic tree (sometimes shrub) species endemic to the Atlantic Forest biome in southeastern Brazil. Distribution It is native to the regions of Sudeste − in Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and ...

'' Mart., ''

Dicksonia sellowiana ''Dicksonia sellowiana'', the xaxim, or samambaiaçu or imperial samambaiaçu, is an arborescent fern in the family Dicksoniaceae, native to the tropical Americas. Distribution The fern is native to Southern Mexico, Central America, and South A ...

'' Hook, '' Albizia edwallii'' (Hoehne) Barneby & J.Grimes, ''

Myrocarpus frondosus ''Myrocarpus frondosus'', the ibirá-payé, incienso, cabreúva or qu, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed ...

'' Allemão, ''

Cedrela fissilis ''Cedrela fissilis'' is a species of tree in the family Meliaceae. It is native to Central and South America, where it is distributed from Costa Rica to Argentina.Myrcianthes pungens ''Myrcianthes pungens'', the guabiyu, is a species of plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is native to Brazil and Uruguay. Description ''Myrcianthes pungens'' is a medium sized tree, up to 10 m high, with a not very compact cup, with a lot of pube ...

'' (O.Berg) D.Legrand, '' Podocarpus lambertii'' Klotzsch ex Endl., '' Rudgea parquioides''(Cham.) Müll.Arg., ''

Picramnia parvifolia ''Picramnia parvifolia'', the cedrinho, is a tree species that occurs in Brazil (in ''Cerrado'' and ''Atlantic Forest''), in the regions Sudeste (in São Paulo and Minas Gerais states) and Sul ( Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul sta ...

'' Engl. and ''

Picrasma crenata ''Picrasma crenata'', the ''pau-amargo'', ''pau-tenente'' or ''tenente-josé'', is a tree species that belongs to the family Simaroubaceae. It occurs in Brazil (in Atlantic Forest), in the regions Nordeste (in Bahia state), Sudeste (in Minas Ge ...

'' (Vell.) Engl. In a survey located in a one-hectare plot in a slope in the area, 1,063 individuals belonging to 69 species were found.

Fauna

Mammals

Until the year 2009, 16 species of wild mammals were registered in the area, which eight are endangered: '' Alouatta guariba clamitans'', '' Cebus nigritus'', ''

Eira barbara The tayra (''Eira barbara'') is an omnivorous animal from the weasel family, native to the Americas. It is the only species in the genus ''Eira''. Tayras are also known as the ''tolomuco'' or ''perico ligero'' in Central America, ''motete'' in ...

'', '' Nasua nasua'', '' Leopardus wiedii'' '' Chironectes minimus'', ''

Lontra longicaudis The Neotropical otter or Neotropical river otter (''Lontra longicaudis'') is an otter species found in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the island of Trinidad. It is physically similar to the northern and southern river otter, which ...

'' and ''

Cuniculus paca The lowland paca (''Cuniculus paca''), also known as the spotted paca, is a large rodent found in tropical and sub-tropical America, from east-central Mexico to northern Argentina, and has been introduced to Cuba and Algeria. The animal is calle ...

''. Domestic animals were also found in the area and control suggestions were proposed in order to ensure the survival and a sobrevivência and viability of local wildlife populations .

Avifauna

Were found 169 birds species, being most part forest species and 44 are endemic of

. Five species are in extinction risk for the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil: '' Odontophorus capueira'', '' Patagioenas cayennensis'', '' Triclaria malachitacea'', '' Grallaria varia'' and ''

Amazona pretrei The red-spectacled amazon (''Amazona pretrei'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowla ...

'' (the latter is globally threatened), among other rare or " near threatened" species, as well as species typically found in seasonal forests and in higher parts of the highlands showing that the area is an ecotone between the seasonal deciduous forest and the Araucaria moist forest.

Ecotourism and Environmental education

Activities of ecotourism and environmental education are also realized in the area, where three different tracks are available between the forest, having different difficulty levels. In the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 the RPPN received special visits of students and docents from Biology and Geoecology courses from Germany universities of Tübingen and Rottenburg.

References

{{Reflist Private natural heritage reserves of Brazil Protected areas of Rio Grande do Sul Forests of Brazil Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest