Araucárias National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional das Araucárias) is a
national park in the state of
Santa Catarina,
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 ...
.
Location
The Araucárias National Park is located in the Santa Catarina municipalities of
Passos Maia and
Ponte Serrada.
The protected area was established on 19 October 2005 and has an area of .
The park 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 ...
.
Annual rainfall averages .
Average temperature is .
The park is on the Campos Gerais, a plateau that slopes gently down to the west.
The land ranges in altitude from .
The vegetation in the area directly influenced by the park is mainly native secondary formations in different stages of regeneration, exploited primary forest, reforestation with exotic species (
Pinus
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden ...
and
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as e ...
), agricultural areas and pastures.
The protected area is surrounded by a buffer zone holding small farms and agrarian reform settlements as well as soy plantations and cattle ranches.
In addition to the characteristic ''
Araucaria angustifolia'' of the mixed rainforest there are other endangered species such as ''
Dicksonia sellowiana'' and ''
Ocotea porosa
''Ocotea porosa'', commonly called imbuia or Brazilian walnut, is a species of plant in the Lauraceae family. Its wood is very hard, and it is a major commercial timber species in Brazil.
Taxonomy and naming
It is often placed in the related ...
''.
The forest helps maintain water quality in the
Chapecó
Chapecó () is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina, in the Southern Region of Brazil. Being a major industrial, financial and educational center, it is a major producer of industrialized food products. Considered a medium city, with a p ...
,
Chapecozinho, Mato and Caratuva rivers.
Conservation
The park is classed as
IUCN protected-area category II (national park).
The basic objective is to preserve the natural environments, which hold remnants of the Araucária Forest and plants of the
Atlantic Forest biome that are highly threatened by human activity.
The park supports scientific research, environmental education, outdoor recreation and eco-tourism.
The parks is threatened by wild boars, abandoned domestic animals, disturbed areas and the practice of hunting wild animals.
Protected species 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),
helmeted woodpecker (Dryocopus galeatus),
ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and
cougar (Puma concolor).
Dia ensolarado no PARNA.jpg,
File:Araucária.jpg, Araucária
File:Vale de araucárias.jpg, Stand of araucárias
File:Vale da saudade.jpg, Deforested area
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Araucarias National Park
National parks of Brazil
Protected areas of Santa Catarina (state)
Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest