Caatinga revisited: ecology and conservation of an important seasonal dry forest.
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.
Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, 52171-900 Recife, PE, Brazil. upa677@hotmail.com
Ulysses Paulino
UP
de Albuquerque
Elcida
E
de Lima Araújo
Ana Carla Asfora
AC
El-Deir
André Luiz Alves
AL
de Lima
Antonio
A
Souto
Bruna Martins
BM
Bezerra
Elba Maria Nogueira
EM
Ferraz
Eliza
E
Maria Xavier Freire
Everardo Valadares de Sá Barreto
EV
Sampaio
Flor Maria Guedes
FM
Las-Casas
Geraldo Jorge Barbosa
GJ
de Moura
Glauco Alves
GA
Pereira
Joabe Gomes
JG
de Melo
Marcelo
M
Alves Ramos
Maria Jesus Nogueira
MJ
Rodal
Nicola
N
Schiel
Rachel Maria
RM
de Lyra-Neves
Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega
RR
Alves
Severino Mendes
SM
de Azevedo-Júnior
Wallace Rodrigues
WR
Telino Júnior
William
W
Severi
D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D001938:Brazil; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004463:Ecology; D006801:Humans; D010944:Plants; D012621:Seasons