Araucaria moist forests


The Araucaria moist forests, officially classified as mixed ombrophilous forest in Brazil, are a coniferous forest ecoregion of the Atlantic Forest Biome. The forest ecosystem is located in southern Brazil and northeastern Argentina. The ecorregion also includes select areas of open field called "campos de cima da serra" or "coxilhas".

Setting

The moist forests cover an area of, encompassing a region of mountains and plateaus in the Brazilian states of São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul, and extending into Misiones Province of Argentina.
The ecoregion lies above, rising to elevation on the high slopes of the Serra da Mantiqueira.
The ecoregion is bounded by the Paraná-Paraíba interior forests to the north, west, and south, the Cerrado savannas and shrublands to the northeast, The Serra do Mar coastal forests to the east, and the Uruguayan savanna to the southwest.

Climate

The Araucaria moist forests have an oceanic temperate climate, with frequent frosts during the winter months and considerable snowfalls in the highest areas. Annual precipitation is high, ranging from, without a dry season.

Flora

The ecoregion mostly consists of evergreen subtropical moist forests, with a canopy made up of Ocotea pretiosa and O. catharinense, Campomanesia xanthocarpa, and Mimosa scabrella and Parapiptadenia rigida. Brazilian araucaria forms an emergent layer, growing up to in height. The forests are significant from an evolutionary perspective, as a relict of mixed coniferous and broad-leafed forests that were once much more widespread, and are home to many taxa characteristic of the Antarctic flora.

Fauna

The ecoregion is home to several threatened species endemic to the Atlantic forests, including the brown howler monkey and the red-spectacled parrot. The Araucaria moist forests is recognized as an important endemic bird area.

Conservation and threats

The Araucaria moist forests are within the Atlantic Forest Biome, which is recognized as a biodiversity hotspot by Conservation International, and as a Global 200 ecoregion by the World Wildlife Fund.