Espinal ecoregion
| Espinal (NT0801) | |
|---|---|
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| Ecology | |
| Realm | Neotropical |
| Biome | Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands |
| Geography | |
| Area | 108,800 km2 |
| Countries | Argentina |
| Coordinates | 36°34′23″S 64°57′58″W / 36.573°S 64.966°WCoordinates: 36°34′23″S 64°57′58″W / 36.573°S 64.966°W |
| Climate type | Cfa: warm temperate, fully humid, hot summer |
The espinal (NT0801) is an ecoregion of dry, thorny forest, savanna and steppe in Argentina. It has been extensively modified by large scale cattle ranching, but remnants of the original flora remain. It is threatened by the advance of the irrigation-based agricultural frontier.
The espinal is a broad arc of arid land in the interior of Argentina to the north and west of Buenos Aires, extending from the northern Uruguay border west through Santa Fe to Cordoba and south to the Atlantic coast south of Bahía Blanca. It includes central Santa Fe Province, Córdoba Province and the northern part of San Luis Province. It has an area of 10,887,950 hectares (26,904,700 acres). The name "espinal" (thorny) refers to the thorny deciduous shrubland forest of the region between the flooded wetlands along the Paraná River to the east and the Sierras de Córdoba to the west.
The northern part of the ecoregion adjoins the Humid Pampas around Buenos Aires to the south, the Uruguayan savanna to the east, and the Humid Chaco and Dry Chaco to the north and northwest. A belt of Paraná flooded savanna runs from north to south through the ecoregion along the Paraná River. The southern part of the ecoregion lies between the Low Monte ecoregion to the west and the Humid Pampas to the east.
The region mostly covers flat plains with loess or sandy soils. There are wide variations in climate. The climate in the north is warm and wet, with rains in the summer. The Köppen climate classification is "Cfa": warm temperate, fully humid, hot summer. At a sample location at coordinates 34°15′S 62°45′W / 34.25°S 62.75°W the mean temperature ranges from 9 °C (48 °F) in July to 24.1 °C (75.4 °F) in January. The yearly average mean temperature is about 16.5 °C (61.7 °F). Yearly total precipitation is about 800 millimetres (31 in). Monthly precipitation ranges from 16.3 millimetres (0.64 in) in June to 110.5 millimetres (4.35 in) in March.
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Wikipedia