Caatinga Revisited: Ecology and Conservation of an Important Seasonal Dry Forest

• Main Authors: Ulysses Paulino de Albuquerque, Elcida de Lima Araújo, Ana Carla Asfora El-Deir, André Luiz Alves de Lima, Antonio Souto, Bruna Martins Bezerra, Elba Maria Nogueira Ferraz, Eliza Maria Xavier Freire, Everardo Valadares de Sá Barreto Sampaio, Flor Maria Guedes Las-Casas, Geraldo Jorge Barbosa de Moura, Glauco Alves Pereira, Joabe Gomes de Melo, Marcelo Alves Ramos, Maria Jesus Nogueira Rodal, Nicola Schiel, Rachel Maria de Lyra-Neves, Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves, Severino Mendes de Azevedo-Júnior, Wallace Rodrigues Telino Júnior, William Severi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2012-01-01
• Series: The Scientific World Journal
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/2012/205182
• ISSN: 1537-744X

Besides its extreme climate conditions, the Caatinga (a type of tropical seasonal forest) hosts an impressive faunal and floristic biodiversity. In the last 50 years there has been a considerable increase in the number of studies in the area. Here we aimed to present a review of these studies, focusing on four main fields: vertebrate ecology, plant ecology, human ecology, and ethnobiology. Furthermore, we identify directions for future research. We hope that the present paper will help defining actions and strategies for the conservation of the biological diversity of the Caatinga.