Caatinga
Sign in to saveCaatinga (; ) 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' (''ka'a'' = 'forest, vegetation'; tinga = 'white'). The Caatinga is a xeric shrubland and thorn forest, which consists primarily of small, thorny trees that shed their leaves seasonally. Cacti, thick-stemmed plants, thorny brush, and arid-adapted grasses make up the ground layer. Most vegetation experiences a brief burst of activity during the three-month-long rainy season.
Key facts
- Ecoregion.name
- Caatinga
- Ecoregion.image
- Um mundo chamado Sertão.jpg
- Ecoregion.image_alt
- Photo of arid landscape
- Ecoregion.caption
- Landscape
- Ecoregion.map
- Ecoregion NT1304.svg
- Ecoregion.map_caption
- Map of the Caatinga ecoregion.
- Ecoregion.ecozone
- Neotropical
- Ecoregion.biome
- deserts and xeric shrublands
- Ecoregion.border1
- Atlantic Coast restingas
- Ecoregion.border2
- Atlantic dry forests
- Ecoregion.border3
- Bahia interior forests
- Ecoregion.border4
- Caatinga moist-forest enclaves
- Ecoregion.border5
- Campos rupestres
- Ecoregion.border6
- Cerrado
- Ecoregion.border7
- Maranhão Babaçu forests
- Ecoregion.border8
- Northeastern Brazil restingas
- Ecoregion.border9
- Pernambuco coastal forests
- Ecoregion.border10
- Pernambuco interior forests
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Caatinga-400x300.jpg
Show 1 more fact
- Commons category
- Caatinga
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~11 min read
Article
19 sectionsContents
- Geography
- Climate
- Ecology
- Vegetation
- Fauna
- Indigenous peoples
- Possible anthropogenic origins
- Conservation
- Economic exploitation
- Agriculture
- Grazing
- See also
- On Caatinga
- The five other major ecoregions of Brazil
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- Historical biogeographic surveys
- External links
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' (''ka'a'' = 'forest, vegetation'; tinga = 'white'). The Caatinga is a xeric shrubland and thorn forest, which consists primarily of small, thorny trees that shed their leaves seasonally. Cacti, thick-stemmed plants, thorny brush, and arid-adapted grasses make up the ground layer. Most vegetation experiences a brief burst of activity during the three-month-long rainy season.
Caatinga falls entirely within earth's tropical zone and is one of six major biomes of Brazil. It covers 912,529 km², nearly 10% of Brazil's territory. It is home to 26 million people and over 2000 species of plants, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals.
Gallery (9)
On the map
3 mapped locations