Pará mangroves
| Pará mangroves (NT1427) | |
|---|---|
Shrub mangroves (Avicennia germinans) on a hypersaline, rarely inundated salt flat near Bragança
|
|
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Neotropical |
| Biome | Mangrove |
| Geography | |
| Countries | Brazil |
| Coordinates | 0°48′25″S 46°51′11″W / 0.807°S 46.853°WCoordinates: 0°48′25″S 46°51′11″W / 0.807°S 46.853°W |
| Climate type | Af: equatorial, fully humid |
The Pará mangroves (NT1427) is an ecoregion along the Atlantic coast of the state of Pará in Brazil. They constitute the western extension of the Maranhão mangroves ecoregion. The mangroves are relatively intact, although they are under some pressure from agriculture and logging.
The Pará mangroves grow along the coast of the state of Pará, and extend inland along estuaries and rivers for up to 45 kilometres (28 mi). They include a stretch of the Atlantic coast of Marajó island, and the Marajó Bay and Atlantic coasts of mainland Pará. They adjoin the western part of the Maranhão mangroves ecoregion, stretching from near Belém on the Pará River along the coast of eastern Pará state to the border of Maranhão state. The mangroves adjoin the further inland and the Marajó várzea at the mouth of the Amazon River. The ecoregion contains about 28% of the total mangrove area in Brazil. They are part of the larger Guianan-Amazon Mangroves global ecoregion, which also includes the Maranhão mangroves, Amapá mangroves and Guianan mangroves.
The terrain consists of islands and mudflats created from fine-grained sediments and clay deposited by the Amazon, which are colonized as they form and stabilized by the salt-tolerant mangroves. The tides range from 5 to 7 metres (16 to 23 ft). Since the land is flat, saline water and mangroves are found as much as 45 kilometres (28 mi) from the coast.
The climate is tropical, warm and humid. Temperatures range from 24 to 32 °C (75 to 90 °F). Mean air temperature is about 26 °C (79 °F). Mean annual rainfall is about 2,300 millimetres (91 in), with a well-defined dry season from July to December when monthly rainfall is under 50 millimetres (2.0 in). Annual rainfall may be as high as 4,000 millimetres (160 in).
The ecoregion is in the neotropic ecozone and the mangrove biome. Mangroves form a continuous belt along the Pará and Maranhão coasts, with six species of mangrove trees and several associated species. They are important as a nursery for fish and in protecting the coast, and provide an important source of food and other resources to the local human population. The mangroves of Pará and Maranhão extend along 650 kilometres (400 mi) of coast and cover about 700,000 hectares (1,700,000 acres) or about 85% of mangroves in Brazil. The mangroves benefit from the constant influx of fresh water from rainfall and from the Amazon River. However, they must compete with freshwater hardwood species typical of the Amazon rainforest.
...
Wikipedia