Biodiversity Hotspots: Brazil's Cerrado

         A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region that is both a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction. The biodiversity hotspot that I chose is Brazil's Cerrado. Though Brazil's Cerrado is not known as well as the Amazon, it takes up approximately 20% of Brazil. Brazil's Cerrado occupies Brazil's central area.
         Due to the fact that the Cerrado is a savanna, the Cerrado is a large grassland. It does not contain as wide a variety of biodiversity as the Amazon rainforest, though it does contain a wide variety of plant and animal species, including many endangered and critically endangered species. These species include, but are not limited to, the maned wolf (see figure 1), the giant armadillo, and the critically endangered Spix's macaw.

Figure 1(WWF) The endangered Maned Wolf.

        As far as average net primary productivity is concerned, the savanna type ecosystem falls about in the middle of the chart with approximately 3,200 kilocalories of energy produced per square meter per year. The Cerrado has enough need for energy that the net primary productivity is larger than the Arctic tundra's need for energy, but there is not so much of a need as what the tropical rainforest needs, therefore, the Cerrado falls right in the middle on the scale for net primary productivity in order to produce just enough energy to sustain Brazil's Cerrado.

Brazil's Cerrado Food Web

           The Cerrado home of a lot of biodiversity. There is an estimated 10,000 plant  species living in the Cerrado, 4,400 of which are considered endemic. (Endemic means that the species lives uniquely in the Cerrado.) 600 regularly occurring bird species migrate to and from the Cerrado, 20 of which are endemic. With 200 species of mammals in the Cerrado, 14 of those species are endemic. 30 of the 220 reptilian species in the Cerrado are endemic. Finally, nearly 13% of amphibians in the Cerrado are endemic. As this shows, species of Brazil's Cerrado allow for a very significant variety of biological diversity. 

         Starting in the 1970s, the Cerrado became the new frontier for agricultural production. This led to an increase of population and trade, mainly soy and corn. Approximately 78.7% of the Cerrado's land has been converted for human use and/or pasture and coal production. Only 21.3% of the indigenous vegetation remains today.  

World Wildlife Foundation

         Some work that the World Wildlife Foundation is using to conserve Brazil's Cerrado includes community-focused ecotourism, helping miners train and work as tour guides, and teachers in freshwater and environmental education. The WWF also sponsors the Round Table on Responsible Soy in the Cerrado, which helps to promote environmentally responsible production and usage of soy.

          With Brazil's Cerrado being on the line, the would is helping to build this savanna back up to its fullest potential. With the help of local and international people, the Cerrado will be the home of many no longer endangered, but thriving endemic species.

References

"Biodiversity Hotspot." Science Daily. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Farticles%2Fb%2Fbiodiversity_hotspot.htm>.

"Biodiversity Hotspots for Conservation Priorities." (2000): n. pag. Web.

"Biological Diversity in the Cerrado." The Encyclopedia of the Earth. Ed. J. Emmett Duffy. Conservation International, 3 Nov. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eoearth.org%2Fview%2Farticle%2F150638%2F>.

"The Cerrado: Savanna in Brazil." E B E R B a C H B L O G. N.p., 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 8 Dec. 2014. <http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cR9rdkVFa04/U1CuntSJWfI/AAAAAAAABsU/qJIUy4MEKHU/s1600/Cerrado+Food+Web.PNG>.

"Cerrado, the Brazilian Savanna." WWF -. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2014. <http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/cerrado/>.