The Açu National Forest () is a

national forest National Forest may refer to: * National forest or state forest, a forest administered or protected by a sovereign state ** National forest (Brazil) ** National forest (France) ** National forest (United States) ** State Forests (Poland) ** The N ...

in the state of

Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", refe ...

, Brazil.

Location

The Açu National Forest is in the municipality of

Assu Assū (Shahmukhi: ; Gurmukhi: , ) is the seventh month of the Punjabi calendar, as well as the Nanakshahi calendar, which governs the Sikh tradition. This month coincides with Ashvin in the Hindu calendar and the Indian national calendar, and Se ...

(or Açu) in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. It has an area of . The terrain is flat or slightly undulating. The only body of water is Lago do Piató, which has a maximum depth of . It used to be fed by flood water from the

Piranhas River The Piranhas River (), also known as the Açu River, is a river of northeastern Brazil. It originates in southeastern Paraíba state, near the border with Ceará, and flows north-northeast through Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte states to empty ...

, but since the construction of a dam on the Piranhas no longer receives water from the river.

History

The Açu Forest Park (Horto Florestal de Açu) was created by law 1.175 on 10 August 1950. It was made a national forest by ordinance 245 of 18 July 2001. It is the first national forest in Rio Grande do Norte and the third in the north east region. It was created due to a popular movement by the Defence Committee of the National Forest. The Açu National Forest 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 a government agency under the administration of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment. It is nam ...

(ICMBio). It 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 ...

VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources) with the objective of sustainable multiple use of forest resources and scientific research, with emphasis on methods for sustainable exploitation of native forests. An advisory council was appointed on 28 August 2008.

Environment

The forest is mostly covered by typical

Caatinga Caatinga () is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" comes from the Tupi word '' ka'atinga'', meaning "white forest" or "white vegetat ...

shrub and trees, with many cactuses. There are small populations of

carnauba Carnauba (; ), also called Brazil wax and palm wax, is a wax of the leaves of the carnauba palm '' Copernicia prunifera'' (synonym: ''Copernicia cerifera''), a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazilian states of Ceará, Pia ...

. 62 species from 46 genera have been identified, mostly from the families

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...

Cactaceae A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

and

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the Borago, borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees, and herbs in 146 to 154 genus, genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single famil ...

. Typical species are Croton sonderianus,

Caesalpinia pyramidalis ''Caesalpinia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes 10 species which range from southeastern Mexico through Central America to Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and to Cuba, Hispaniola, and the Bahamas. Taxonomy His ...

, Auxemma glazioviana,

Dipteryx odorata ''Dipteryx odorata'' (commonly known as "cumaru", "kumaru", or "Brazilian teak") is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. The tree is native to Northern South America and is semi-deciduous. Its seed In botany, a seed ...

and Tabebuia impetiginosa. The forest, with its rich vegetation, is home to various species of birds, reptiles and mammals such as

armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

cavy Caviidae, the cavy family, is composed of rodents native to South America and includes the domestic guinea pig, wild cavies, and the largest living rodent, the capybara. They are found across South America in open areas from moist savanna to t ...

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 ...

and

marmoset The marmosets (), also known as zaris or sagoin, are twenty-two New World monkey species of the genera '' Callithrix'', '' Cebuella'', '' Callibella'', and ''Mico''. All four genera are part of the biological family Callitrichidae. The term ...

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Acu National Forest 1950 establishments in Brazil National forests of Brazil Protected areas of Rio Grande do Norte