The Juatinga Ecological Reserve ( pt, Reserva Ecológica Estadual da Juatinga) is an

ecological reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

in the state of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, Brazil. It protects a rugged peninsula projecting into the Atlantic Ocern that is mainly covered by Atlantic Forest, and also helps maintain the traditional lifestyle of residents of small villages along the coast.

Location

The Juatinga Ecological Reserve is in the municipality of

Paraty Paraty (or Parati, ) is a preserved Portuguese colonial (1500–1822) and Brazilian Imperial (1822–1889) municipality with a population of about 43,000. Indeed, the name "Paraty" originates from the local Guaianá Indians' Indigenous Tupi ...

, Rio de Janeiro. It has an area of . It is contained within the

Cairuçu Environmental Protection Area Cairuçu Environmental Protection Area ( pt, Área de Proteção Ambiental de Cairuçu) is a protected area in the south of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. It contains an important remnant of the Atlantic Forest biome. Location Cairuçu Environmen ...

. The reserve is part of the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve. The reserve protects a peninsula in the extreme east of the municipality that projects into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. The Juatinga peninsula is in the northern Ribeira belt. The reserve has rugged terrain, located where the

Serra do Mar The Serra do Mar (, Portuguese for ''Sea's Ridge'' or ''Sea Ridge'') is a 1,500 km long system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil. Geography The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state ...

meets the coastal plain, with elevations that range from sea level to over . It has granitoid rocks from the Proterozoic and sediments from the Cenozoic. The most common type of soil is ''Háplico''

cambisol A Cambisol in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is a soil in the beginning of soil formation. The horizon differentiation is weak. This is evident from weak, mostly brownish discolouration and/or structure formation in the soil pr ...

, and there is also red-yellow latosol and humic cambisol.

History

The reserve is in area where there has been intense pressure on the land from speculators and squatters. The Juatinga Ecological Reserve was created by state decree 17.981 of 30 October 1992. It is home to about 400 families, or 2,000 people, living in basic conditions in small coastal villages. It was created to promote the caiçaras culture of the residents of the reserve, reconciling their life style with conservation of the environment.

Environment

The region has a tropical humid climate with a distinct rainy season. Annual rainfall ranges from . The Juatinga Ecological Reserve protects submontane and montane tropical rainforest,

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

s and restinga. Vegetation is mainly dense rainforest. Some areas contain vegetation in different stages of succession, including agricultural fields, scrub and secondary growth. A 2014 study of the ''Laranjeiras-Praia do Sono'' and ''Praia do Sono-Praia de Antigos'' trails in the south of the reserve found that one of the trails was somewhat degraded, and had ravine erosions in several places. The primary rainforest at higher elevations protects threatened species such as the

southern muriqui The southern muriqui (''Brachyteles arachnoides'') is a muriqui (woolly spider monkey) species endemic to Brazil. Taxonomy Taxonomy of muriquis is controversial because some scientists believe that they are a monotypic genus while others favo ...

(''Brachyteles arachnoides'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). The State Environmental Institute (INEA) arranged a weekend bird watching event in the reserve in August 2016 to raise environmental awareness. About twenty participants recorded 106 bird species.

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Juatinga Ecological Reserve Ecological reserves of Brazil Protected areas established in 1992 1992 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of Rio de Janeiro (state)