Vegetation 1

Vegetation types

Mangroves
occur, usually in only a narrow band, in tidally flooded areas all along the southeast Brazilian coast. The most extensive areas of mangroves are around Santos, SP.

Restinga
is a low forest growing on sand dunes (Pic. 2) most often found on barrier islands and on other areas immediately adjacent to the shore. The most extensive areas of restinga are south of Angra dos Reis and in the Iguape-Ilha Comprida area. Restinga is characterized by some unique species such as Phylloscartes kronei and Formicivora littoralis, Formicivora erythronotos (Song 1) and Tangara peruviana.

Tropical lowland and sub-montane forests.
Most of the area dealt with in this guide was originally covered with one type or another of tropical forest. Pic. 3 shows the original extent of all types of such forests in the whole of eastern Brazil. In the more restricted area covered by this guide these forests can be sub-divided into a number of different types which are dealt with in more detail in the next section (Vegetation 2). The largest number of endemic species occurs in these forests.

Montane forests.
Two types of montane forests occur within the area: A. In the north, at elevations above 1500 meters in the Serra da Mantiqueira, the Serra Bocaina (the northern section of the Serra do Mar), and also immediately to the east in the Serra dos Orgãos are sub-tropical broadleaf evergreen forests of the Podocarpus type dominated by Podocarpus lamberti. These are areas of heavy annual rainfall with a relatively cool climate where the trees are filled with epiphyes and mosses. (Pic. 4). Species characteristic of this area include Tijuca atra, Carpornis cucullatus, Phylloscartes difficilis, Neopelma chrysolophum (Song 2), and Dysithamnus xanthopterus. The higher slopes of these mountains are covered with dense scrub interspersed with single trees. Species characteristic of this area are Stephanoxis lalandi, Phyllomyias fasciatus, Drymophila genei, Knipolegus nigerrimus, Muscipipra vetula, Stephanophorus diadematus and Oreophylax moreirae (Song 4). B. Further south and west sub-tropical coniferous forests of the Araucaria type occur (Pic. 5), dominated by Araucaria angustifolia. In the higher parts of the south (west of Iguape - Ilha do Cardoso) are large areas covered by these forests but they are also found as far north as the Campos do Jordão area. Species characteristic of this area are Amazona vinacea, Phibalura flavirostris, Leptasthenura setaria, Phyllomyias virescens, and Piprites pileatus.

Cerrado and Cerradão
These terms apply respectivly to bush and tree savanna (i.e. grassland interspersed with either bushes or trees). This biome is now almost completely turned over into agricultural land. It occurs (or occured) inland, immediately to the north and west of the rainforest belt in areas where rainfall is generally less than 1000mm/year. Typical species are Cariama cristata, Colaptes campestris, Serpophaga subcristata and Phyllomyias fasciatus.

Campos
is the Brazilian term for grassland. This is of two sorts: A. Areas of high grass campos (or long grass prairie) occur in the northwest of the area, e.g. around Itirapina (Pic. 6). Typical species of this area include Micropygia schomburgkii, Melanopareia torquata, Polystictus pectoralis (Song 3),Emberizoides herbicola and Coryphaspiza melanotis. B. High montane campos occurs above the tree and scrub line in the Serra dos Orgãos, Serra da Mantiqueira and near Campos do Jordão, (e.g. on the Pico de Itapeva or near São Jose dos Alpes). This is humid grassland interspersed with scrubby areas and rocky slopes and, although not temperate, resembles the paramos of the Andes (Pic. 7). Typical species of these highest altitudes include Oreophylax moreirae (Song 4), Poospiza thoracica, Embernagra platensis, Colibri serrirostris and Anthus hellmayri.