Cerrado

The Cerrado is a massive tropical savanna located in central Brazil.

It is the second largest habitat type in Brazil, following the Amazon rainforest. This huge region covers 21 percent of the country's total land area. It stretches across many states like Goiás, Mato Grosso, and Minas Gerais. The area also reaches slightly into the countries of Paraguay and Bolivia. Because it is so large, it covers about 2 million square kilometers. Most of this land is privately owned by different people.

This makes it a hard job to protect the whole area.

The way the Cerrado works depends on its two main seasons. There is a wet season and a very dry season. The dry season happens during the southern winter from April to September. During this time, the land becomes much drier. Fire is a natural part of this landscape. Many plants have adapted to fire by growing thick, corky bark. This bark helps them stay safe from the heat. The soil also plays a big role in how plants grow. Most of the soil is well-drained and low in certain nutrients.

Scientists have studied this land for a long time. A Danish botanist named Eugenius Warming wrote about it in 1892. He described the plants in the state of Minas Gerais. Long ago, indigenous groups like the Xavantes and Karajás lived here. They used fire as a tool to help animals find food. For a long time, the soil was not good for farming. People mostly raised beef cattle for local markets. This changed in the mid-1960s as cities and industries grew.

The Cerrado is one of the richest savannas in the world. It has about 10,000 different plant species. There are 837 types of birds and nearly 200 types of mammals. Some animals are endemic, which means they live only in the Cerrado. For example, 11 types of mammals and 10 types of birds are found nowhere else. You can see animals like the maned wolf and the jaguar here.

Leaf cutter ants are also very important. They help break down organic matter in the soil. There are up to 4,000 ant nests in just one hectare.

This region is also very important for water. Many large rivers start in the Cerrado. These include parts of the Paraná-Paraguay and São Francisco river basins. The land also helps store carbon in its peatland areas. This storage is six times more potent than in the Amazon rainforest. However, farming has changed the land quickly. Researchers at Embrapa found that adding lime and phosphorus helps crops grow. This allowed huge amounts of soybeans to be grown. Now, Brazil is a main exporter of soybeans to the world.