Lami José Lutzenberger Biological Reserve () is a municipal biological reserve near

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Formation

The Lami José Lutzenberger Biological Reserve was established in 1975 in the Lami neighborhood of the city of

, and named after the local agronomist and environmentalist José Lutzenberger. It was the first municipal reserve in Brazil. The reserve covers . The park reopened in April 2002 after being closed for more than ten years to allow its ecosystems to recover. The reserve conserves nature and supports research and environmental education.

Environment

The conservation area includes riparian forests, wetlands, reeds, salt marshes, and fields, which support a wide variety of species of flora and wildlife. More than 300 native plant species have been identified and over 200 species of native birds, including local and migratory species. The reeds provides nurseries for fish, amphibians and molluscs, and turtles and lizards lay their eggs in the sandy elevations. Small groups of the semi-aquatic

capybara The capybara or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris'') is the largest living rodent, native to South America. It is a member of the genus '' Hydrochoerus''. The only other extant member is the lesser capybara (''Hydrochoerus isthmi ...

(Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) can be found in the riparian forests. Other species include the

broad-snouted caiman The broad-snouted caiman (''Caiman latirostris'') is a crocodilian in the family Alligatoridae found in eastern and central South America, including the Pantanal habitat of Bolivia, Southeast Brazil, and Paraguay, as well as northern Argentina an ...

(Caiman latirostris) and

neotropical otter The neotropical otter or neotropical river otter (''Lontra longicaudis'') is a near-threatened (per the IUCN) otter species found in freshwater systems from Mexico and Central America through mainland South America, as well as the island of Trini ...

(Lontra longicaudis). Endangered plant species include Ficus cestrifolia,

Erythrina crista-galli ''Erythrina'' is a genus of plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 130 species, which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They are trees, with the larger species growing up to in height. These species ...

and

Butia capitata ''Butia capitata'', is known as Cocus Capitata and also known as jelly palm, is a ''Butia'' Arecaceae, palm native to the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás in Brazil. It is known locally as ''coquinho-azedo'' or ''butiá'' in (northern) Minas Ger ...

Notes

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lami Jose Lutzenberger Biological Reserve 1975 establishments in Brazil Biological reserves of Brazil Protected areas of Rio Grande do Sul