Paraná flooded savanna


The Paraná flooded savanna is an ecoregion that borders the southern Paraná River in Argentina. It has largely been converted to agriculture or occupied by urban development, but scattered patches of the original habitat remain along the river.

Location

The Paraná flooded savanna ecoregion has an area of.
It extends along the Paraná River valley from Resistencia, Chaco, south to Buenos Aires.
It includes the middle and lower Paraná floodplains, and those of the Paraguay River, a major tributary of the Paraná.
In the south it includes the Paraná delta and the basin of the Río de la Plata.
The ecoregion consists of a strip of land that runs through the Humid Chaco ecoregion in the north.
Further south it runs through the Espinal ecoregion and then the Humid Pampas ecoregion before reaching the Río de la Plata estuary.

Physical

The region contains wide coastal lowlands, and low islands subject to flooding between the channels of the rivers.
The large bodies of water give high humidity and temper the daily and seasonal temperature extremes.
The Köppen climate classification is "Cfa": warm temperate, fully humid, hot summer.
At a sample location at coordinates average annual temperature is.
It is coolest in July with a mean temperature of and warmest in January with a mean temperature of.
Total rainfall averages about.
Monthly rainfall ranges from in July to in March.

Ecology

The Paraná flooded savanna is in the Neotropical realm and in the flooded grasslands and savannas biome.
At one time it was one of the largest areas of wetland and riverine habitat in South America.

Flora

Vegetation is characteristic of the Argentina's northeastern humid subtropical regions.
It includes narrow strips of forest and shrub on land emerging from the water, scrub and pasture on islands, hydrophilic and aquatic flora on the river banks and in the channels, and lagoons within the islands.
Tree species include Salíx humboldtiana, Tessaria integrifolia and Erythrina crista-galli.
Water plants include species of the Eichhornia and Paederia genera, Victoria cruziana, Cyperus giganteus, Typha latifolia, Typha domingensis and Pontederia lanceolata.

Fauna

This ecoregion has considerable biodiversity.
Mammals include agile gracile opossum, coypu and Argentine swamp rat.
Reptiles include the leopard keelback and common green racer snakes, Hilaire’s toadhead turtle and Argentine snake-necked turtle.
The Venezuela snouted treefrog is present.
Rare, endemic or endangered species include polka-dot tree frog, marsh deer, neotropical otter and capybara.
Endangered amphibians include blunt-headed salamander and red-spotted Argentina frog.
Birds include biguá, rufescent tiger heron, striped owl, green kingfisher, great black hawk, roadside hawk, dusky-legged guan, checkered woodpecker, greater thornbird, rufous-bellied thrush and straight-billed reedhaunter.
Endangered birds include yellow cardinal, Chaco eagle and Eskimo curlew.
There are more than 300 species of fish, mostly Characiformes and catfish.
Species of fish that attract tourists for sports fishing include spotted sorubim, barred sorubim, paulicea Amazon catfish, dorado and pirapitá.
Other economically valuable species include the streaked prochilod fish; pearly clams for ornaments; and the coypu, neotropical otter, capybara, caiman species and gold tegu for their skins and hides, and to a lesser extent their meat.

Status

The World Wildlife Fund gives the ecoregion the status of "Critical/Endangered".
The Paraná flooded savanna is now heavily populated and has mostly been converted to farmland or urban areas.
There are scattered areas of the original habitat along the edge of the river in inaccessible area.
Protected areas include the Cayastá Provincial Reserve, Del Medio-Los Caballos Provincial Reserve, Colonia Benitez Strict Natural Reserve and Vire-Pitá Provincial Reserve.
The main threat comes from dams and levees.
Urban growth, pollution and illegal commercial hunting for skins are also concerns.