The Aguapeí State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual do Aguapeí) is a state park in the state of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, Brazil. It protects an area of floodplain in the Atlantic Forest biome, home to many water birds.

Location

The Aguapeí State Park is divided between the municipalities of

Castilho Castilho () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, l ...

(2.57%),

Guaraçaí Guaraçaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 mi ...

(38.42%), Junqueirópolis (16.46%), Monte Castelo (18.73%),

Nova Independência Nova Independência (Portuguese for "New Independence") is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America ...

(21.58%) and São João do Pau d'Alho (2.24%) in the state of São Paulo. It has an area of . The park is about upstream from the point where the Aguapeí River joins Paraná River. The park would be part of the proposed

Trinational Biodiversity Corridor The Trinational Biodiversity Corridor ( pt, Corredor Trinacional de Biodiversidade) is a proposed ecological corridor that would link protected areas in the Alto Paraná Atlantic forests ecoregion in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. History The p ...

, which aims to provide forest connections between conservation units in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina in the Upper Paraná ecoregion.

Environment

The park contains large areas of floodplain, and is flooded in the rainy season when the Aguapeí overflows its banks. It is in the Atlantic Forest biome and contains seasonal semi-deciduous forest. Plants typical of this environment include '' Albizia hasslerii'', '' Aspidosperma polyneuron'', '' Pterogyne nitens'', '' Schizolobium parahyba'', ''

Handroanthus heptaphyllus ''Handroanthus heptaphyllus'', commonly referred to as the pink trumpet tree or pink tab, is a Bignoniaceae tree native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America. It grows in the high forest watershed of the Paraná River, Paraguay Ri ...

'', '' Tabebuia ochracea'' and '' Zeyheria tuberculosa''. There are also areas of '' várzea'' vegetation. Mammals include capybara,

tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America, with one species inh ...

and

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

. Bird species include

jabiru The jabiru ( or ; ''Jabiru mycteria'') is a large stork found in the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes. It sometimes wanders into the United States, usually in Texas, but has been reported as far north as Mississippi. ...

(''Jabiru mycteria''),

wood stork The wood stork (''Mycteria americana'') is a large American wading bird in the family Ciconiidae (storks), the only member of the family to breed in North America. It was formerly called the "wood ibis", though it is not an ibis. It is found ...

(''Mycteria americana''),

maguari stork The maguari stork (''Ciconia maguari'') is a large species of stork that inhabits seasonal wetlands over much of South America, and is very similar in appearance to the white stork; albeit slightly larger.King CE. 1988. An ethological comparison ...

(''Ciconia maguari''), spoonbill,

great egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and ...

(''Ardea alba''), snowy egret (''Egretta thula''),

garganey The garganey (''Spatula querquedula'') is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and across the Palearctic, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India (in particular Santragachi), Banglades ...

(''Anas querquedula''),

Neotropic cormorant The neotropic cormorant or olivaceous cormorant (''Nannopterum brasilianum'') is a medium-sized cormorant found throughout the American tropics and subtropics, from the middle Rio Grande and the Gulf and Californian coasts of the United States so ...

(''Phalacrocorax brasilianus'') and

southern screamer The southern screamer (''Chauna torquata'') is a species of bird in family Anhimidae of the waterfowl order Anseriformes. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. ...

(''Chauna torquata'').

History

The Aguapeí State Park was created as compensation when the Companhia Energética de São Paulo (CESP) built the Primavera Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Paraná River. The dam would flood of the

Lagoa São Paulo Reserve The Lagoa São Paulo Reserve ( pt, Reserva Lagoa São Paulo) is an ecological reserve in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It was created in 1942, but over the years suffered considerable degradation by illegal invasions and squatters. It was large ...

and of the

Great Pontal Reserve The Great Pontal Reserve ( pt, Grande Reserva do Pontal), formally called the Pontal do Paranapanema State Reserve ( pt, Reserva Estadual Pontal do Paranapanema), is an ecological reserve is the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It was created in 1942, ...

. The park was created by state decree 43.269 on 2 July 1998 with an area of . The purpose is to fully protect fauna, flora and natural beauty, while allowing the park to be used for educational, recreational and scientific purposes. Decree 44.730 of 28 February 2000 defined necessary public areas in the park. Fishing regulations were published on 2 October 2008, covering conservation areas and their buffer zones in the Paraná River basin. They were the Morro do Diabo State Park, Rio do Peixe State Park, Rio Aguapeí State Park,

Mico Leão Preto Ecological Station The Mico Leão Preto Ecological Station ( pt, Estação Ecológica Mico Leão Preto) is an Ecological station in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It protects four fragments of Atlantic Forest in a region that has lost most of its forest coverage ...

Ivinhema State Park The Rio Ivinhema State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual das Várzeas do Rio Ivinhema) is a State park in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Location The Rio Ivinhema State Park is divided between the municipalities of Jateí (57.46%), Naviraí ...

Ilha Grande National Park The Ilha Grande National Park (''Parque Nacional de Ilha Grande'') is located on the border between Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul states in Brazil. The park was created in 1997 to protect the biological diversity of the upper Parana River area ...

Caiuá Ecological Station The Caiuá Ecological Station ( pt, Estação Ecológica do Caiuá) is an ecological station in the state of Paraná, Brazil. It was created as compensation for flooding caused by the Rosana dam on the Paranapanema River, and protects an area of ...

and

Iguaçu National Park Iguaçu National Park () is a national park in Paraná State, Brazil. It comprises a total area of and a length of about , of which are natural borders by bodies of water and the Argentine and Brazilian sides together comprise around . Iguaçu ...

. The perimeter of the park has been fenced, and the land has been acquired and donated to the state of São Paulo. The administrative headquarters and visitor center were opened in December 2015. Governor Geraldo Alckmin and Environment Secretary Patricia Iglecias attended the ceremony. The park was scheduled to be opened to the public early in 2016.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aguapei State Park State parks of Brazil Protected areas of São Paulo (state) 1998 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest