Alto Paraná Atlantic forests

Alto Paraná Atlantic forests
Alto Paraná Atlantic forests
	Aerial view of Iguaçu National Park, Brazil.
Ecology
Realm	Neotropical
Biome	Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Borders	List Campos Rupestres montane savanna; Cerrado; Humid Chaco; Serra do Mar coastal forests; Southern Cone Mesopotamian savanna; Uruguayan savanna;
Bird species	586
Mammal species	213
Geography
Area	471,204 km2 (181,933 sq mi)
Countries	Brazil; Argentina; Paraguay;
States	São Paulo; Mato Grosso do Sul; Paraná; Santa Catarina; Minas Gerais; Goiás; Rio Grande do Sul; Misiones Province;
Conservation
Habitat loss	94.0%
Protected	5.95%

The Alto Paraná Atlantic forests, also known as the Paraná-Paraíba interior forests, is an

ecoregion of the tropical moist forests biome, and the South American Atlantic Forest biome. It is located in southern Brazil, northeastern Argentina, and eastern Paraguay

.

Geography

The Alto Paraná Atlantic forests are an interior extension of the coastal forests, extending across the southern portion of the

Paraíba do Sul River eastward along the Paraíba valley lying behind the coastal Serra do Mar, and further eastward and northward along the basin of the Paraná River

and its tributaries, forming a complex mosaic with the surrounding ecoregions.

States, provinces, and departments

The ecoregion covers portions of the Brazilian states of

Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul, the Argentine province of Misiones, and the Paraguayan departments of Alto Paraná, Amambay, Caaguazú, Caazapá, Canindeyú, Concepción, Guairá, and Itapúa

.

Adjacent ecoregions

The Cerrado lie to the north and east (in São Paulo), entwining with the Paraná-Paraíba forests in a complex mosaic. The Serra do Mar coastal forests lie to the south, on the Atlantic side of the Serra do Mar range. The Alto Paraná Atlantic forests wrap around the north, east, and south of the Araucaria moist forests, which cover a higher-elevation portion of the plateau in Paraná, Santa Catarina, and northern Rio Grande do Sul states. The Uruguayan savanna lies to the south, and to the west lie the Southern Cone Mesopotamian savanna and the Humid Chaco in Argentina and Paraguay, respectively.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is subtropical, with 1,200 to 1,600 millimetres (47 to 63 in) of rainfall per year. The winter dry season extends from April to September.

Flora

The main vegetation type is semi-deciduous forests, akin to the other interior forest ecoregions of the Atlantic forests. Approximately 40% of the trees lose their leaves during the winter dry season.