The Rio Piranhas mangroves

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

(WWF ID: NT1432) covers a series of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, 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 evoluti ...

forests along 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 ...

coast of the eastern tip 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 ...

. The mangrove sections are spread across 350 km, from the mouth of the Mamanguape River in the north, to the vicinity of

Maceió Maceió (), formerly sometimes Anglicised as Maceio, is the capital and the largest city of the coastal state of Alagoas, Brazil. The name "Maceió" is an Indigenous term for a spring. Most maceiós flow to the sea, but some get trapped and form la ...

in the south. This coast is centered on the city of

Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...

, and the mangrove sections often surround industrial ports and cities.

Location and description

There are five major, separate mangrove sectors in this ecoregion (north to south): * Mamanguape River, a river estuary in

Paraíba Paraíba ( Tupi: ''pa'ra a'íba''; ) is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba ...

State, *

Paraíba do Norte River The Paraíba do Norte River, mostly known as Paraíba River, is the most important watercourse of the state of Paraíba in northeastern Brazil. The river originates in the Borborema Plateau, and flows northeast to empty into the Atlantic Ocean, ...

, with a large estuary north of the Paraiba capital city of João Pessoa *

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the 19 ...

State sector, extending 50 km north and south on the coast from the major city of

. The section includes the estuaries of the

Tracunhaém River The Tracunhaém River is a river of Pernambuco state in eastern Brazil. Its estuary on the Atlantic Ocean lies in the Acaú-Goiana Extractive Reserve, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 2007. See also *List of rivers of Pernambuco ...

Pirapama River The Pirapama River is a river of Pernambuco state in eastern Brazil. See also *List of rivers of Pernambuco List of rivers in Pernambuco (Brazilian State). The list is arranged by drainage basin from north to south, with respective tributaries ...

, and

Ipojuca River The Ipojuca River is a river of Pernambuco state in eastern Brazil. See also *List of rivers of Pernambuco List of rivers in Pernambuco (Brazilian State). The list is arranged by drainage basin from north to south, with respective tributaries ...

Mundaú Lagoon Mundaú Lagoon is an estuarine lagoon situated west of Maceió, capital city of Alagoas state, in Brazil. Its total area is 24 km². The lake receives the Mundaú River, and is connected to the Atlantic Ocean and Manguaba Lagoon by a netwo ...

, at the city of

Alagoas Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. It ...

State *

São Miguel River (Alagoas) São Miguel River is a river of Alagoas state in eastern Brazil. See also *List of rivers of Alagoas List of rivers in Alagoas (Brazilian State). The list is arranged by drainage basin from north to south, with respective tributaries indented ...

, an estuary in

State. North of Recife, the interior territory to the mangroves is the

Pernambuco interior forests The "Pernambuco" interior forests (in reality Paraiba and Pernambuco forest/states and not only "Pernambuco") is an ecoregion of the Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Biome, and the South American Atlantic Forest biome. It lies in e ...

ecoregion. To the south of Recife it is the

Pernambuco coastal forests The Pernambuco coastal forests is an ecoregion of the Tropical moist broadleaf forests Biome, and the South American Atlantic Forest biome. It is located in northeastern Brazil. Geography The Pernambuco coastal forests occupy an 80 km-wide s ...

ecoregion.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is ''

Tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

(Am)). This climate is characterized by relatively even temperatures throughout the year (all months being greater than average temperature), and a pronounced dry season. The driest month has less than 60 mm of precipitation, but more than (100-(average/25) mm. This climate is mid-way between a tropical rainforest and a tropical savannah. The dry month usually at or right after the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. Precipitation averages from 1,800 to 2,100 mm/year.

Flora and fauna

The characteristic tree species are red mangrove (''

Rhizophora mangle ''Rhizophora mangle'', the red mangrove, is distributed in Estuary, estuarine ecosystems throughout the tropics. Its Vivipary, viviparous "seeds", in actuality called propagules, become fully mature plants before dropping off the parent tree. Th ...

''), black mangrove ('' Avicennia shaueriana''), and white mangrove (''

Laguncularia racemosa ''Laguncularia racemosa'', the white mangrove, is a species of flowering plant in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae. It is native to the coasts of western Africa from Senegal to Cameroon, the Atlantic Coast of the Americas from Bermuda and ...

''). Depending on local conditions in any particular sector, these species can stand alone or in different combinations. They are typically 9 to 20 meters in height. Associated species include button mangrove (''

Conocarpus erectus ''Conocarpus erectus'', commonly called buttonwood or button mangrove, is a mangrove shrub in the family Combretaceae. This species grows on shorelines in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. Range Locations it is known from inc ...

''), '' Dalbergia ecastaphyllum'', parrot-flower ('' Psittacanthus dichrous''); and four species of sea grasses - shoal grass (''

Halodule wrightii ''Halodule wrightii'' is an aquatic plant in the Cymodoceaceae family. It is referred to by the common names shoal grass or shoalweed, and is a plant species native to seacoasts of some of the warmer oceans of the world. ''H. wrightii'' is an h ...

''), clover grass (''

Halophila baillonis ''Halophila baillonis'' is a species of aquatic plant in the family Hydrocharitaceae. It is referred to by the common name clover grass. It is native to Brazil, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Netherlands Ant ...

''), paddle grass (''

Halophila decipiens ''Halophila decipiens'', commonly known as Caribbean seagrass or paddle grass, is a seagrass in the family Hydrocharitaceae. It grows underwater on sandy or muddy sea floors in shallow parts of tropical seas. Description ''Halophila'' is the onl ...

''), and beaked tasselweed (''

Ruppia maritima ''Ruppia maritima'' is an aquatic plant species commonly known as beaked tasselweed, ditch grass, tassel pondweed and widgeon grass. Despite its scientific name, it is not a marine plant; is perhaps best described as a salt-tolerant freshwater ...

''). The mangroves of the region support the West Indian manatee (''

Trichechus manatus The West Indian manatee (''Trichechus manatus''), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the eastern US to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on un ...

''), and the area is important for migratory birds.

Protected areas

Officially protected areas in the ecoregion include: * Área de Relevante Interesse Ecológica Manguezais da Foz do Rio Mamanguape *

Acaú-Goiana Extractive Reserve The Acaú-Goiana Extractive Reserve ( pt, Reserva Extrativista Acaú-Goiana) is an extractive reserve in the states of Paraíba and Pernambuco, Brazil. Location The Acaú-Goiana Extractive Reserve covers . It is in the municipalities of Caapor ...

References

{{reflist Neotropical ecoregions Ecoregions of Brazil Mangrove ecoregions