The Mata do Jacaré Ecological Station ( pt, Estação Ecológica Mata do Jacaré), formerly the São Carlos Ecological Station, is an ecological station 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 GaWC a ...

, Brazil. It preserves an isolated fragment of 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 semi-deciduous riparian vegetation.

History

The Jacaré Forest (Mata do Jacaré) with an area of in the municipality of

Brotas Brotas is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of São Paulo. The population is 24,636 (2020 est.) in an area of 1101 km2. The town is known locally for its coffee, on which its economy relies. History The city's history started in ...

, São Paulo, was established by state decree 38.957 of 25 August 1961. This became the São Carlos Ecological Station ( pt, Estação Ecológica de São Carlos} by state decree 26.890 of 12 March 1987. A 2002 federal decree said the name of a conservation unit should where possible be based on its most significant natural feature or its oldest name, so it became the Estação Ecológica Mata do Jacaré by state decree 53.237 of 20 July 2012. It is administered by the Forestry Institute of the state environmental secretariat. The unit lies along the south shore of the reservoir formed by the Santana Dam on the Jacaré-Guaçu River, which separates the municipalities of Brotas and

São Carlos São Carlos (Saint Charles, in English, ; named after Saint Charles Borromeo) is a Brazilian municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, 254 kilometers from the city of São Paulo. With a population of 254,484 inhabitants, it is th ...

. The area is hilly and includes steep slopes susceptible to erosion. Altitudes range from . It drains into the Santana reservoir.

Environment

The Mata do Jacaré has typical seasonal semi-deciduous forest vegetation of the

biome, one of the last fragments of such forest in the São Carlos region. The unit has riparian vegetation. It is an isolated fragment surrounded by sugar cane fields. A 2002 study found only 145 species of birds, with a low incidence of endangered species. This appeared to be due to the small size and isolation of the unit. An extension of protection around the area has been proposed both to conserve biodiversity and to maintain the water quality of the reservoir.

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mata do Jacare Ecological Station Ecological stations of Brazil Protected areas of São Paulo (state) Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest 1987 establishments in Brazil Protected areas established in 1987