 Pantanal
This "swampy" plain
occupies part of the states of Mato Grosso and
Mato Grosso do Sul It is a enclosed by mountains
that hinders water drainage. It is calculated
that 60% of the water that enters the Pantanal
evaporates without leaving its perimeter. It is
extremely flat and its altitude varies between 0
and 200m. Some authors divide the Pantanal in
nine subdivisions, some in seven and others
divide the Pantanal in just two parts. The only
division that all the authors agree is that there
exists at least two Pantanals, very different but
dependent.
The southern Pantanal, covered by
flooded grass fields is used for the feeding of
cattle, with small elevations called
"Capões" and in the river margins the
ciliary forests. On the "capões"
forests appear with floral succession
finding high trees and bromeliaceae in the
ground.
The other area is the North
Pantanal, which has a great amazon influence. It
is covered by denser forests than the southern
Pantanal.
It's common to hear that Pantanal
biodiversity is very big; this is not true. There
exists a considerable variety, but the amount of
animals makes one to think that many species
exist in the area. It is mainly in the amount of
birds that it is the largest Pantanal wonder. It
is common to be under flights of thousands of
birds, as macaws, tuiuius and others.
 In general, the
Pantanal soil is poor and in some areas has large
amounts of salt. This salt exists because the
Pantanal area was sea before the Andes mountains
appeared. In aerial photos one can
see a great difference between the
saline bays and the not saline. In the saline
margins algae doesn't exist, while on the
non-saline algae exists like a green carpet.
Two very defined seasons exist- the
rainy and the dry. It is this rhythm of
water that defines the life in the Pantanal.
Currently
there is in process a project of a hydroroad in
the Pantanal that could change this rhythm
and risk the whole Pantanal ecosystem.
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