The Castanhão Ecological Station () is an ecological station (ESEC) in the state of

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

, Brazil. It protects an area of

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 ...

vegetation adapted to arid conditions to the south of the Castanhão Dam.

Location

The Castanhão Ecological Station is divided between the municipalities of

Alto Santo Alto Santo is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the states of Brazil, state of Ceará in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains the Castanhão Dam, the largest in the state, and the controvers ...

(0.75%),

Iracema ''Iracema'' (in Portuguese: ''Iracema - A Lenda do Ceará'') is one of the three indigenous novels by José de Alencar. It was first published in 1865. The novel has been adapted into several films. Plot introduction The story revolves around ...

(15.2%) and Jaguaribara (84.04%) in the state of Ceará. It has an area of . The ESEC is about from

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

. It is in the Sertaneja Depression of the Sertanejos Residual Plateaus. Terrain is mostly smooth or gently undulating. The ESEC is in the

Jaguaribe River The Jaguaribe River is a highly seasonal river in Ceará state of northeastern Brazil. Two large dams were constructed across the Jaguaribe, the Orós Dam, completed in 1960, and the Castanhão Dam, completed in 2003. The Castanhão Dam flooded t ...

basin, which covers just over 51% of the state.

History

The Castanhão Dam is one of the most important projects of DNOCS (National Department of Drought Works) and the largest dam in Brazil on an intermittent river. It was controversial, forcing relocation of thousands of people and relocation of the municipal seat of Jaguaribara. The Castanhão Ecological Station was created in compensation for the environmental impact of the dam. The ESEC was created by federal decree on 27 September 2001. It 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). The ESEC 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 ...

Ia (strict nature reserve). Objectives are to protect and preserve samples of the

ecosystem, and to enable development of scientific research and environmental education programs. In 2006 it was announced that the ESEC would be almost doubled in area to , encompassing the Serra da Micaela. This was because the high areas contain the sources of the rivers, important for conservation. IBAMA would install an office in Nova Jaguaribara for research into the caatinga, and the flora and fauna of the area. As of 2017 the

ICMBio 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 ...

website still showed the area as .

Environment

The ESEC has a tropical southern austral semi-arid climate. Annual rainfall ranges from . Average temperature is . 36% of the area is used for agriculture and 15.7% is devoid of vegetation. 18.2% contains original vegetation. Native vegetation is mostly woody, grassy savanna in the

biome, with scattered shrub sized hyperxerophilic plants. The main species are Mimosa acustipula and

Crotoneae Crotoneae is a tribe (biology), tribe of the subfamily Crotonoideae, under the family (biology), family Euphorbiaceae. It comprises five genus, genera. See also * Taxonomy of the Euphorbiaceae References

Crotoneae, Euphorbiaceae tribe ...

species, pioneer plants following strong human disruption of the environment.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Castanhao Ecological Station Ecological stations of Brazil Protected areas established in 2001 2001 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of Ceará Caatinga