Included here is the so-called cerrado which includes the uplands of Central Brazil (most of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Tocantins, western Minas Gerais and Bahia, southern Maranho and Piaul, all Distrito Federal, small portions of Sao Paulo and Paran), northeastern Paraguay and eastern Bolivia.

Cerrado Riverine or Gallery Forest

Nearly all the water bodies in the Cerrado are fringed by forest, but show considerable variation in floristic composition. This is influenced by factors such as topography, soils, drainage and groundwater characteristics. For example, in swampy areas Calophyllum brasiliense, Hedyosmum brasiliense, Richeria grandis and Xylopia emarginata are the typical species; in seasonally flooded forest Ficus obtusiuscula, Inga vera and Salix humboldtiana are common, whereas in better drained areas Endlicheria paniculata, Hieronyma alchorneoides and Pseudolmedia laevigata are characteristic. The transition to Cerrado or grassland provides suitable conditions for various forest edge species such as Callisthene major, Lamanonia ternata, Piptocarpha macropoda and Vochysia tucanorum, while the shady interiors favour shade tolerant species such as Cheiloclinium cognatum and Siparuna guinensis. Riverine forest also provides habitat for various generalists like Casearia sylvestris, Copaifera langsdorffii, Hymenaeae courbaril, Protium heptophyllum, Schefflera morototoni and Tapirira obtusa. However, there are also a number of species unique to these forests. Such endemics include Hirtella hoehnei (Chrysobalanaceae), Unonopsis lindmannii (Annonaceae) and Vochysia pyramidalis (Vochysiaceae).

References

Anon. 1996. Habitats of South America. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology and Intitut Royal Des Sciences Naturelles De Belgique.

Durigan, G. 2006. Observations on the Southern Cerrados and Their Relationship with the Core Area. In: Neotropical Savannas and Seasonally Dry Forests. Plant Diversity, Biogeography, and Conservation. Eds. R. T. Pennington, G. P. Lewis and J. A. Ratter. Taylor & Francis.

Eiten, G. 1972. The Cerrada vegetation of Brazil. The Botanical Review. 38: 201-341.

Felfili, J. M. & Da Dilva, M. C. 1992. Floristic composition, phytosociology and comparison of cerrado and gallery forests at Fazenda Agua Limpa, Federal District, Brazil. In: Nature and Dynamics of Forest-Savanna Boundaries. Eds. P. A. Furley, J. Procter and J. A Ratter. Chapman & Hall.

Felfili, J. M. et al. 2006. Phytogeography of Cerrado Sensu Stricto and land System Zoning in Central Brazil. In: Neotropical Savannas and Seasonally Dry Forests. Plant Diversity, Biogeography, and Conservation. Eds. R. T. Pennington, G. P. Lewis and J. A. Ratter. Taylor & Francis.

Felfili, J. M. & Da Silva, M. C. 1993. A comparative study of the cerrado (sensu stricto) vegetation in central Brazil. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 9: 277-289.

Filgueiras, T. S., Felfili, J. M., da Silva, M. C Jr. & Nogueira, P. E. 1998. Floristic and structural comparison of cerrado (sensu stricto) vegetation in central Brazil. In: Forest biodiversity in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Eds. F. Dallmeier and J. A. Comiskey. Man and the Biosphere Series, Vol. 21. The Parthenon Publishing Group.

Junk, W. J. 1993. Wetlands of tropical South America. In: Wetlands of the World: Inventory, ecology and management. Vol. 1. Eds. D. Whigham, D. Dykyjova and S. Hejny. Kluwer Academic Press.

Klink, C. A. & Machado, R. B. 2005. Conservation of the Brazilian Cerrado. Conservation Biology, 19: 707-713.

Oliveiro, P. S. & Marquis, R. J. 2002. The Cerrados of Brazil. Columbia University Press. New York.

Oliveira-Filho, A. T. & Martins, F. R. 1991. A comparative study of five Cerrado areas in southern Mato Grosso, Brazil. Edinburgh, Journal of Botany, 48: 307-332.

Ratter, J. A. & Dargie, T. C. D. 1992. An analysis of the floristic composition of 26 Cerrado areas in Brazil. Edinburgh Journal of Botany, 49: 235-250.

Ratter, J. A., Bridgewater, S. & Ribeiro, J. F. 2006. Biodiversity Patterns of the Woody Vegetation of the Brazilian Cerrados. In: Neotropical Savannas and Seasonally Dry Forests. Plant Diversity, Biogeography, and Conservation. Eds. R. T. Pennington, G. P. Lewis and J. A. Ratter. Taylor & Francis.