Biodiversity
Pedra Talhada forest is part of three major forest formations of Brazil : the Atlantic forest, the Caatinga and the Cerrado. This gives is an exceptional richness of biodiversity. More than 2100 species of fauna and flora have been inventoried, including :
- 823 plants,
- 255 mosses and fungi ( lichen and myxomycetes included),
- 665 insects and other arthropods,
- 53 fishes and amphibians,
- 72 reptiles (snakes, turtles and iguanas),
- 255 birds
- 48 mammals.
This number of species is probably much lower than the reality, because there is no specific inventory for certain groups. The number of listed species at this stage is huge considering the size of the Reserve (4469 hectares). Dozens of theses species are endemic, it means that they can be found nowhere else but in this forest ; like the Cattleya orchid, the Guandu mammal and the Tangara-Seven-Colors.
The richness of the biodiversity, both animal and vegetal, is mainly due to three key factors : First of all, this kind of mountainous terrain allows the flora and fauna to diversify in accordance with the altitude, since there is a difference of 800 meters between the bottom of the valleys and the top of the rocky spur. Secondly, the geographical location of this forest benefits from the climatic and biologic influence of three very different zones : the Atlantic forest, the dry Caatinga and the Amazon forest. Finally, at the bottom of the swampy valley, fauna and flora are very specific and can’t be found in any other level of the forest.
It is important to note that in this small massif of 50 km2, 22 species of bird listed in the The Red List of endangered species in Brazil, have been inventoried and observed. It is then showed that a single forest can house 10 % of endangered species of bird of the brazilian subcontinent.
