Knowra Cerrado Cerrado The Cerrado is a vast tropical savanna region of central Brazil, comprising grasslands, shrublands, and woodlands adapted to seasonal drought and recurring fire.
Tropical savanna : A tropical ecosystem with grass-dominated vegetation, scattered trees, and pronounced wet and dry seasons. The Cerrado is one of the world’s largest tropical savanna regions.
Fire regime : The characteristic pattern of fires in a place, including their frequency, intensity, season, and extent. Cerrado communities are shaped by how often and when fires burn.
Soybean cultivation in Brazil : The large-scale production of soybeans in Brazil for food, feed, and industrial markets. Soy expansion has been a major driver of land conversion in the Cerrado.
Tocantins–Araguaia River basin : A major drainage basin in central and northern Brazil formed by the Tocantins and Araguaia river systems. Cerrado headwaters feed rivers that sustain ecosystems and communities downstream.
Amazon rainforest : A vast tropical rainforest centered on the Amazon Basin of South America. Its humid, closed-canopy forests contrast with the Cerrado’s seasonal, often open vegetation.
Cerrado vegetation : The Cerrado’s plant communities, ranging from open grasslands to dense woodland. Vegetation structure shifts across the region with soils, fire, and water availability.
Resprouting : The regrowth of shoots from surviving roots, stems, or other plant tissues after damage. Many Cerrado plants recover after fire by resprouting from protected underground structures.
Cerrado deforestation : The clearing or degradation of native vegetation in Brazil’s Cerrado region. Agriculture and infrastructure have converted extensive areas of native Cerrado.
São Francisco River : A major Brazilian river that flows from Minas Gerais northeastward to the Atlantic Ocean. Its headwaters rise in the Cerrado, linking the biome to water supplies across Brazil.
Caatinga : A seasonally dry tropical biome of northeastern Brazil with drought-adapted vegetation. The Caatinga is drier and more concentrated in northeastern Brazil than the Cerrado.
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