Deforestation last year rose to the highest level since 2015 in Brazil’s Cerrado.
This has prompted scientists to raise alarm over the state of the world’s most species-rich savanna, a major carbon sink that helps to stave off climate change.
About Cerrado
Cerrado is a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil.
The Cerrado, is one of the world’s largest savannas, is often called an “upside-down forest” because of the deep roots its plants sink into the ground to survive seasonal droughts and fires.
Destruction of these trees, grasses and other plants in the Cerrado is a major source of Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions, although it is far less densely forested than the more famous Amazon rainforest that it borders.
The added destruction is particularly concerning, when considering that roughly half of the Cerrado has been destroyed since the 1970s, mostly for farming and ranching.
Savannah
Savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close.
The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses
Region
The largest areas of savanna are found in Africa, South America, Australia, India, the Myanmar (Burma)–Thailand region in Asia, and Madagascar.
In general, savannas grow in tropical regions 8° to 20° from the Equator.
Climate
Conditions are warm to hot in all seasons, but significant rainfall occurs for only a few months each year.
Mean annual precipitation is generally 80 to 150 cm.
The dry season is typically longer than the wet season.
