The Vassununga State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual Vassununga) 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 preserves an area of interior Atlantic Forest and ''

cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the ...

'', including a huge ''jequitibá-rosa'' ('' Cariniana legalis'') tree that by some accounts is the oldest tree in Brazil.

Location

The Vassununga State Park is from the city of

. The park is on both sides of km 245 of the Rodovia Anhangüera (SP-330 highway) in the municipality of

Santa Rita do Passa Quatro Santa Rita do Passa Quatro is a municipality in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo in Brazil. Elevation is . The population is 27,600 (2020 estimate) in an area of . The municipality holds the Cerrado Pé de Gigante Area of Relevant Eco ...

in the northeastern region of the State of São Paulo. It has six unconnected sections: Capão da Várzea, Capetinga Oeste, Capetinga Lesta, Praxedes, Maravilha and Pé de Gigante. It has a total area of , and protects an area of Atlantic semi-deciduous forest and ''

'' forest.

History

The region was first developed for cattle farming, then from 1850 for coffee plantations. The landowners often maintained forest reserves to conserve soil for future plantations, preserve water sources, provide natural nurseries for coffee plants, give a source of wood for construction, maintain an area to hunt and so on. One such area was the property of the Vassununga Sugar Mill and contained the largest and most beautiful forest of ''jequitibás-rosa'' in the region. The sugar company went bankrupt in 1969. The Vassununga State Park was created through state decree 52.546 of 26 October 1970 to preserve this area of forest and its fauna.

Environment

The Vassununga State Park contains one of the last remnants of Interior Atlantic Forest in the area, with semideciduous rainforest and ''

'' forest and associated fauna. There are many ''jequitibá-rosa'' ('' Cariniana legalis'') trees, including the largest in the state that may be visited by the public. The forest covers hills, cliffs and fluvial plains, creating a beautiful landscape of emergent forest in which the huge ''jequitibá-rosa'' trees stand out. The park is in a highly fragmented landscape under considerable stress from human activities. There are few native ecosystems and particularly high risk of erosion near the watersheds and rivers. A strategy of connecting the fragments of the park by means of ecological corridors or stepping stones, and of ensuring sustainable use in the lands around it would be extremely useful in maintaining biodiversity.

Flora

Flora include specimens of ''jequitibá-rosa'' ('' Cariniana legalis''), ''guaritá'' (''

Astronium graveolens ''Astronium graveolens'' is a species of flowering tree in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae, that is native to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Bolivia. Common names include glassywood, ronrón ...

''), ''caixeta-preta'' ('' Tabebuia cassinoides''), ''capixingui'' ('' Croton floribundus''), ''pau-pereira'' ('' Platycyamus regnellii''), ''

copaiba Copaiba is a stimulant oleoresin obtained from the trunk of several pinnate-leaved South American leguminous trees (genus '' Copaifera''). The thick, transparent exudate varies in color from light gold to dark brown, depending on the ratio of re ...

'', ''peroba-rosa'' ('' Aspidosperma polyneuron''), ''figueira'' (''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extendi ...

''), ''cedro-rosa'' ('' Cedrela fissilis''), ''araribá'' ('' Centrolobium tomentosum'') and ''paineira'' ('' Spirotheca rivieri'').

Birds

Birds species include the

yellow-headed caracara The yellow-headed caracara (''Daptrius chimachima'') is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is found in tropical and subtropical South America and the southern portion of Central America. Unlike the falcons in the same family, the caraca ...

(Milvago chimachima),

solitary tinamou The solitary tinamou (''Tinamus solitarius'') is a species of paleognath ground bird. This species is native to Atlantic forest of eastern Brazil. Taxonomy All tinamou are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are also ratites. ...

(''Tinamus solitarius''),

Amazon parrot Amazon parrots are parrots in the genus ''Amazona''. They are medium-sized, short-tailed parrots native to the Americas, with their range extending from South America to Mexico and the Caribbean. ''Amazona'' is one of the 92 genera of parrots ...

Muscovy duck The Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') is a large duck native to the Americas, from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico south to Argentina and Uruguay. Small wild and feral breeding populations have established themselves in the United St ...

(''Cairina moschata''), blue ground dove (''Claravis pretiosa''),

violaceous quail-dove The violaceous quail-dove (''Geotrygon violacea'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.Remsen, J. V., ...

(''Geotrygon violacea''), chestnut-bellied seed finch (''Oryzoborus angolensis''), hummingbirds,

toucan Toucans (, ) are members of the Neotropical near passerine bird family Ramphastidae. The Ramphastidae are most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five g ...

pionus ''Pionus'' is a genus of medium-sized parrots native to Mexico, and Central and South America. Characteristic of the genus are the chunky body, bare eye ring (which can vary in color), and short square tail. They are superficially similar to Ama ...

parrots,

black-throated grosbeak The black-throated grosbeak (''Saltator fuliginosus'') is a seed-eating passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in humid Atlantic Forest in far northeastern Argentina ( Misiones), eastern and southeastern Brazil, and far ea ...

(''Saltator fuliginosus''),

rufous-bellied thrush The rufous-bellied thrush (''Turdus rufiventris'') is a songbird of the thrush family (Turdidae). It occurs in most of east and southeast Brazil from Maranhão south to Rio Grande do Sul states, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and central regions of Ar ...

(''Turdus rufiventris''), forpus parrots,

great kiskadee The great kiskadee (''Pitangus sulphuratus''), called ''bem-te-vi'' in Brazil and ''benteveo'' in Argentina, is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Pitangus''. It breeds in open woodl ...

(''Pitangus sulphuratus''), thraupis,

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...

s, tataupa tinamou (''Crypturellus tataupa''), small-billed tinamou (''Crypturellus parvirostris''),

partridge A partridge is a medium-sized galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They are sometimes grouped in the Perd ...

seriema The seriemas are the sole living members of the small bird family Cariamidae, which is also the only surviving lineage of the order Cariamiformes. Once believed to be related to cranes, they have been placed near the falcons, parrots and passerin ...

s, hawks and ''

Cathartiformes The order Cathartiformes of raptors or birds of prey includes the New World vultures and the now-extinct Teratornithidae. These raptors are classified by most taxonomic authorities in the order Accipitriformes (which includes the eagles and hawk ...

''. Other birds observed in the park include the

rufous-tailed jacamar The rufous-tailed jacamar (''Galbula ruficauda'') is a near-passerine bird which breeds in the tropical New World in southern Mexico, Central America and South America as far south as southern Brazil and Ecuador. Description Like other jacamar ...

(''Galbula ruficauda''),

squirrel cuckoo The squirrel cuckoo (''Piaya cayana'') is a large and active species of cuckoo found in wooded habitats from northwestern Mexico to northern Argentina and Uruguay, and on Trinidad. Some authorities have split off the western Mexican form as the M ...

(''Piaya cayana''), southern beardless tyrannulet (''Camptostoma obsoletum''),

purple-throated euphonia The purple-throated euphonia (''Euphonia chlorotica'') is a songbird species in the family Fringillidae. It was formerly placed in the Thraupidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Per ...

(''Euphonia chlorotica''), grey-headed tanager (''Eucometis penicillata''), barred antshrike (''Thamnophilus doliatus''), pale-breasted thrush (''Turdus leucomelas''),

toco toucan The toco toucan (''Ramphastos toco''), also known as the common toucan or giant toucan, is the largest and probably the best known species in the toucan family. It is found in semi-open habitats throughout a large part of central and eastern Sou ...

(''Ramphastos toco''), white-throated spadebill (''Platyrinchus mystaceus''), sepia-capped flycatcher (''Leptopogon amaurocephalus''), silver-beaked tanager (''Ramphocelus carbo''),

planalto tyrannulet The planalto tyrannulet (''Phyllomyias fasciatus'') is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is widespread in wooded habitats of eastern Brazil, extreme north-eastern Bolivia, eastern Paraguay, and far north-eastern Argentina. It is gene ...

(''Phyllomyias fasciatus''), bananaquit (''Coereba flaveola'') and

red-eyed vireo The red-eyed vireo (''Vireo olivaceus'') is a small American songbird. It is somewhat warbler-like but not closely related to the New World warblers (Parulidae). Common across its vast range, this species is not considered threatened by the IUCN. ...

(''Vireo olivaceus'').

Mammals

Mammals include

maned wolf The maned wolf (''Chrysocyon brachyurus'') is a large canine of South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay, and is almost extinct in Uruguay. Its markings resemble those of foxes, but it is neither a fox nor a w ...

(''Chrysocyon brachyurus''),

pampas deer The Pampas deer (''Ozotoceros bezoarticus'') is a species of deer that live in the grasslands of South America at low elevations.Geist, Valerius. Deer of the world their evolution, behaviour, and ecology'. Mechanicsburg, Pa: Stackpole Books, 1998 ...

(''Ozotoceros bezoarticus''), cougar (''Puma concolor''), capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris''),

robust capuchin monkey Robust capuchin monkeys are capuchin monkeys in the genus ''Sapajus''. Formerly, all capuchin monkeys were placed in the genus ''Cebus''. ''Sapajus'' was erected in 2012 by Jessica Lynch Alfaro et al. to differentiate the robust (tufted) capuchin ...

, crab-eating raccoon (''Procyon cancrivorus''),

bush dog The bush dog (''Speothos venaticus'') is a canine found in Central and South America. In spite of its extensive range, it is very rare in most areas except in Suriname, Guyana and Peru; it was first identified by Peter Wilhelm Lund from fossi ...

(''Speothos venaticus''),

oncilla The oncilla (''Leopardus tigrinus''), also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo, is a small spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the popul ...

(''Leopardus tigrinus''),

common agouti The agouti (, ) or common agouti is any of several rodent species of the genus ''Dasyprocta''. They are native to Middle America, northern and central South America, and the southern Lesser Antilles. Some species have also been introduced else ...

, paca,

tayra The tayra (''Eira barbara'') is an omnivorous animal from the weasel family, native to the Americas. It is the only species in the genus ''Eira''. Tayras are also known as the ''tolomuco'' or ''perico ligero'' in Central America, ''motete'' in ...

(''Eira barbara'') and neotropical otter (''Lontra longicaudis'').

O Patriarca

The main attraction of the park is a giant ''jequitibá-rosa'' tree in the well-preserved ''cerrado'' of the Pé de Gigante section, which takes its name from a great depression in the interior shaped like a giant's foot. The tree, called "O Patriarca" (The Patriarch), is estimated to be 600 years old based on comparison to a neighboring ''jequitibá'' whose rings were counted and whose trunk was studied using carbon 14 dating, which gave an age of 400 years. O Patriarca is larger and has a thicker trunk, from which the age of 600 years is estimated. It is in diameter, high and has a circumference of . Its deepest root goes down to and its longest extends to the side. Its gross weight has been estimated at 264 tons. The park holds about 330 specimens of this rare and imposing tree species.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vassununga State Park State parks of Brazil Protected areas established in 1970 1970 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of São Paulo (state)