Serra da Mantiqueira Environmental Protection Area ( pt, Área de Proteção Ambiental da Serra da Mantiqueira is a protected area of

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 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

that includes parts of the states of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

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 b ...

and

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 GaWC a ...

Location

The environment protection area in the

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

biome, with an area of , was created on 3 June 1985. It is administered by the

Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (Portuguese: ''Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade'', ICMBio) is the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment's administrative arm."Brazilian Federal Law 11.516/2007 (Por ...

. It is part of the Mantiqueira Mosaic of conservation units. The area includes parts of the states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. In Minas Gerais it includes the municipalities of

Aiuruoca Aiuruoca is a city in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. Th ...

, Alagoa,

Bocaina de Minas Bocaina de Minas is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Minas Gerais This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), located in the Southea ...

Baependi Baependi is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. Location The population of Baependi as of 2020 was estimated to be 19,199 people living at an altitude of 893 meters. The area of the municipality is 751.748 km². ...

Delfim Moreira Delfim Moreira da Costa Ribeiro (; 7 November 1868 – 1 July 1920) was a Brazilian politician who served as tenth president of Brazil. Biography He was born in Minas Gerais state to a Portuguese father and to a Portuguese Brazilian mother wh ...

Itamonte Itamonte is a city in the south of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Its population was 15,714 (2020) and its area is 432 km². Location Itamonte is a touristic city in the Serra da Mantiqueira mountains. The territorial area is 430,597 km² big. The ci ...

Itanhandu Itanhandu is a city in the south of Minas Gerais, 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 million pe ...

, Liberdade, Marmelópolis,

Passa Quatro Passa-Quatro is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The population is 16,393 (2020 est.) in an area of 277.22 km2. It is part of the microrregion of São Lourenço. Environment The city was declared a hydro-mineral spa in ...

Passa-Vinte Passa-Vinte is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Minas Gerais This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), located in the Southeast Reg ...

Piranguçu Piranguçu is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Minas Gerais This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), located in the Southeast Reg ...

Pouso Alto Pouso Alto (translation: High Landing) is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains 4.39% of the Serra do Papagaio State Park, created in 1998. See also *List of municipalities in M ...

Virgínia Virgínia is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the cou ...

and

Wenceslau Braz Wenceslau Braz may refer to: People *Venceslau Brás Venceslau Brás Pereira Gomes (; 26 February 1868 – 15 May 1966) was a Brazilian politician who served as ninth president of Brazil between 1914 and 1918, during the First Brazilian Repub ...

. In Rio de Janeiro it includes the municipalities of

Itatiaia Itatiaia () is a Brazilian municipality of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is located at an altitude of . Its population was 32,064 in 2020 and its area is . The oldest Brazilian national park, Itatiaia National Park (Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, ...

and Resende. In São Paulo it includes the municipalities of

Campos do Jordão Campos do Jordão () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in southeastern Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The population is 52,405 (2020 est.) in an area of . The city is situated above s ...

, Cruzeiro,

Guaratinguetá Guaratinguetá is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The population is 122,505 (2020 est.) in an area of 752.64 km2. It is located in the region of ...

, Lorena,

Lavrinhas Lavrinhas is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is formed by the seat and district of Pinheiros (which includes the hamlet of Capela do Jacu). The municipality is crossed by many rivers, creeks and so on; the main ones are: Jac ...

, Pindamonhangaba,

Piquete Piquete is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The population is 13,575 (2020 est.) in an area of 176.00 km². The elevation is 645 m. The municipality co ...

, Queluz,

Santo Antônio do Pinhal Santo Antônio do Pinhal is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The population is 6,827 (2020 est.) in an area of 133.01 km². The elevation is 1,080 m ...

São Bento do Sapucaí São Bento do Sapucaí is a Brazilian municipality in São Paulo state. Once known as a religious and traditional town, the municipality of São Bento do Sapucaí, now with its population reaching 10,000 inhabitants, is known for its mild weather ...

Environment

The terrain consists of rugged mountain ranges, with peaks over . It includes the peaks of

Pedra da Mina Pedra da Mina () is the fourth highest mountain in Brazil, located in the Serra Fina section of the Mantiqueira Mountains, one of the country's most important mountain ranges. The mountain stands on the border of the states of Minas Gerais and ...

[], Pico dos Três Estados [] and Pico dos Marins []. Average annual rainfall is . Mean temperatures range from , with an average of . Vegetation is mostly from the Atlantic Forest ecosystem. Below it is mostly dense montane rainforest. From there is mixed dense rainforest and upper montane forest, with specimens of ''

Araucaria angustifolia ''Araucaria angustifolia'', the Paraná pine, Brazilian pine or candelabra tree (, or ), is a critically endangered species in the conifer genus '' Araucaria''. Although the common names in various languages refer to the species as a "pine", it d ...

'' (Brazilian pine). Above there are areas of open fields or rocky fields. Endemic fauna include the

Maldonada redbelly toad The Maldonada redbelly toad (''Melanophryniscus moreirae'') is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, swamps, and intermittent freshwater mar ...

(''Melanophryniscus moreirae''). Migratory species include the

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 The snowy egret (''Egretta thula'') is a small white heron. The genus name comes from Provençal French for the little egret, , which is a diminutive of , 'heron'. The species name ''thula'' is the Araucano term for the black-necked swan, app ...

(''Egretta thula'') and striated heron (''Butorides striata'').

Conservation

The protection area is classed as

IUCN protected area category IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The enlisting of such areas is part ...

V (protected landscape/seascape. The purpose is to ensure conservation of the landscape and regional culture of the

Mantiqueira Mountains The Mantiqueira Mountains (Portuguese: ''Serra da Mantiqueira iterally: Mantiqueira Mountains Chain') are a mountain range in Southeastern Brazil, with parts in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. It rises abruptly from the ...

, to protect and preserve endemic and Andean flora and remnants of the Araucaria forests, to preserve continuity of vegetation coverage along the central mountain spine, and to preserve the original vegetation and wildlife, particularly endangered species. Protected species include the

ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southwes ...

(''Leopardus pardalis mitis'') and

black-capped piprites The black-capped piprites (''Piprites pileata''), also known as the black-capped manakin, is a species of suboscine passerine. It has traditionally been placed in the Tyrannidae. It is found in Atlantic forest, especially with ''Araucaria angu ...

(''Piprites pileata'').

Notes

Sources

* * * {{authority control Environmental protection areas of Brazil Protected areas of São Paulo (state) Protected areas of Minas Gerais Protected areas of Rio de Janeiro (state)