The Caatinga is the largest dry forest region in South America and certainly one of the riches desert vegetations in the world. It encompasses the interior part of northeastern Brazil, extending across eight states: Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Sergipe, Alagoas, Bahia, and northern Minas Gerais. Altogether, the Caatinga comprises 850,000 km², about 10% of the surface area of Brazil and is one of 6 major ecoregions of Brazil. The Caatinga is a xeric shrubland and thorn forest, which consists primarily of small, thorny trees that shed their leaves seasonally. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" which is understood to represent the dry period of the regions two distinguishable seasons: a hot and dry winter, and a cold and rainy summer. During the dry winter periods there is no foliage or undergrowth, as plants try to conserve water. Roots protrude through the surface of the stony soil to absorb water before it is evaporated. With all the foliage and undergrowth dead during the drought periods the Caatinga has a yellow-grey, desert-like look. The drought usually ends in December or January when the rainy season starts. Immediately after the first rains the desert-like landscape starts to transform and becomes completely green within a few days. This is the breeding season for most birds and the time of the year when I made my one week visit in 2019.
This unique scrubland provides habitat for an array of flora and fauna; over 1,200 species of vascular plants occur here, of which 30% is endemic. The birdlife consists of over 350 species, whereas 50 of those are endemic to the region and includes two of the most threatened birds in the world, the Indigo Macaw and Spix Macaw (now believed extinct in the wild). Unfortunately, this is a biotope under severe threat. At least 50% of the Caatinga has already been either completely converted from its native vegetation or modified in a major way. This makes the Caatinga the second most degraded ecosystem in Brazil, following the Atlantic Rainforest which has lost over 80% of its original cover. The severe overuse of Caatinga for grazing and browsing during centuries has resulted in large-scale environmental modification of the region. In addition, unsustainable timber extraction for fuel, extensive and uncontrolled fires and, more recently, cotton cultivation have all played critical roles in the nearly complete destruction of important regional ecosystems. As a result, a large area of the ecoregion is ranked today as highly threatened by desertification. The Caatinga is poorly represented in the Brazilian Conservation Area network, with only 1% in Integral Protection Conservation Areas and 6% in Sustainable Use Conservation Areas. Even though establishing National parks does not mean a safe haven from exploitation it is one solution in the fight to preserve this ecoregion.
