The Brazilian tree savanna or cerrado biome covers an area of 2 million km² of Central Brazil and extends from the margin of the Amazonian forest to outlying areas in the southern states of São Paulo and Paraná. Over a third of its area lies within the Amazon basin. Additional areas of cerrado occur in Bolivia and Paraguay, whilst related species-poor savanna vegetation such as the Roraima-Rupununi savannas and the Venezuelan llanos occur north of the Amazon. The cerrado biome exists across a broad altitudinal range from sea-level to 1, 800m and is characterized by the presence of cerrado (sensu lato) consisting of vegetation forms ranging from savanna grassland, through scrub of varying density to dense low xeric forest, although other vegetation types such as gallery forests and herbaceous vegetation of wet areas are an integral part of the biome.
Over 90% of the cerrado area has an average precipitation of between 800 and 2000 mm and shows a strong seasonality with the majority of rainfall occurring between September and April. Average temperatures are between 18 and 28° C. The soils of the area are classified as ferralitic (oxisols) and are typically well-drained, nutrient poor and with a low PH and nutrient availability. They show high levels of aluminium and all cerrado plant species are tolerant of aluminium and some are obligate accumulators of the element (e.g., Vochysiaceae).
A short concise account of the cerrado is given by Ratter et al. (1997), whilst an in-depth review of the biome is provided in Oliveira & Marquis (2002).
References:Oliveira, P. S. & Marquis, R. J. (eds). (2002). The Cerrados of Brazil. Columbia University Press. 398 pp.
Ratter, J. A., Ribeiro, J. F. & Bridgewater, S. 1997. The Brazilian cerrado vegetation and threats to its biodiversity. Annals of Botany 80: 223-230.
