Orinoco wetlands

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Orinoco wetlands (NT0906)
Orilla de rio en Boca de Uracoa, Monagas.jpg
River bank in Boca de Uracoa, Monagas
Ecoregion NT0906.png
Ecoregion territory (in purple)
Ecology
Realm Neotropical
Biome Flooded grasslands and savannas
Geography
Area5,957 km2 (2,300 sq mi)
Country Venezuela
Coordinates 9°21′36″N62°25′55″W / 9.360°N 62.432°W / 9.360; -62.432 Coordinates: 9°21′36″N62°25′55″W / 9.360°N 62.432°W / 9.360; -62.432
Climate typeAf: equatorial, fully humid

The Orinoco wetlands (NT0906) is an ecoregion of northeast Venezuela within the northern Orinoco Delta. It holds areas of tall grasses in flooded land, surrounded by mangroves and swamp forest, giving way to the drier Llanos savanna in the west.

Contents

Location

The Orinoco Wetlands ecoregion is in the northern Orinoco Delta in northeast Venezuela. They cover an area of 595,697 hectares (1,472,000 acres). [1] The wetlands adjoin or lie within the Orinoco Delta swamp forests. Near the coast they merge into the Amazon-Orinoco-Southern Caribbean mangroves. To the west they give way to the Llanos grasslands. [2]

The flooded grasslands of the Orinoco wetlands are found in seven separate patches north of the main Orinoco channel, surrounded by mangroves, swamp forest, moist forest and llanos. The main part is near Tucupita along the Caño Manamo, the westernmost distributary of the Orinoco. The second largest patch is along the Caño Macarao. To the north they are found along the Boca Grande and San Juan rivers, and in the alluvial fan at the mouth of the Amacuro River. There are other patches between the coastal mangroves and the swamp forests. [3]

Physical

The terrain is flat, mostly about 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) above sea level but rising to 9 metres (30 ft) in levees along the coast. Soils are almost all alluvial deposits, carried from the Andes far to the west. The 360 kilometres (220 mi) coastline of the delta moves east into the Atlantic Ocean by about 40 metres (130 ft) annually. The delta region has many large and small distributary rivers and streams, permanent wetlands and marshes, oxbow lakes, levees and alluvial plains. The region is sparsely inhabited apart from the small city of Tucupita on the edge of the region and small communities of Warao people along the rivers. [3]

Climate

The Köppen climate classification is "Af": equatorial, fully humid. [4] Average annual rainfall in different places varies from 1,000 to 2,000 millimetres (39 to 79 in). The wet season usually lasts from April/May to December, with a period of less rain in July. [3] At a sample location at coordinates 9°15′N62°15′W / 9.25°N 62.25°W / 9.25; -62.25 the temperature is relatively constant throughout the year, slightly cooler in January and July, and slightly warmer in May and October. Yearly average temperatures range from a minimum of 22 °C (72 °F) to a maximum of 31.8 °C (89.2 °F) with a mean of 27.2 °C (81.0 °F). Annual rainfall averages 1,300 millimetres (51 in). Monthly rainfall varies from 35.5 millimetres (1.40 in) in February to 204.5 millimetres (8.05 in) in July. [4]

Ecology

The Orinoco wetlands are in the flooded grasslands and savannas biome. [1]

Flora

Family of Orinoco goose (Neochen jubata) Familia de patos carreteros (Neochen jubata) (8572736913).jpg
Family of Orinoco goose (Neochen jubata)

The patches of wetlands are scattered through a landscape of swamp forests, mangroves, and llanos. [1] Their central sections hold tropical tall flooded grasslands that contain very few shrubs or trees. The tall grasses include Lagenocarpus guianensis , Paspalum repens and species of the Jussieua, Mesosetum, Neptunia, and Rhynchospora genera. There are patches of palms among the grasses that include açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea), Manicaria saccifera , Attalea cuatrecasana and species of the Attalea and Trithrinax genera. In some areas there are stands of Mauritia flexuosa . Around the fringes the habitat holds plants from the surrounding mangroves, swamp forest and lowland forest. The grasslands are drier in the west and hold evergreen broadleaf trees. [3]

Fauna

The stands of moriche palm (Mauritia flexuosa) are important sources of food for many species of primates, rodents and parrots, and are used by many birds for nesting. Threatened species include the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius), Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), jaguar (Panthera onca), bush dog (Speothos venaticus), Orinoco goose (Neochen jubata), and harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja). [3] Endangered birds also include the yellow-bellied seedeater (Sporophila nigricollis). [5]

Status

The World Wildlife Fund classes the ecoregion as "Relatively Stable/Intact". [3] The Orinoco Delta as a whole is very susceptible to ecological damage, particularly the wetlands. Oil exploration and hydraulic engineering pose the main threats, and growing human presence is another concern, threatening the stocks of fish. The dam built on the Caño Manamo in the 1960s to reduce flooding and allow cattle farming caused increased tidal action and salinity in the upper delta, with major impact on flora and fauna. The Guri Dam on the Caroní River upstream also disrupts seasonal flooding. There are several conservation units that provide varying degrees of protection of the wetlands and other area, such as the Delta del Orinoco biosphere reserve, Turuépano National Park and Mariusa National Park. [3]

Related Research Articles

The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or water containing a characteristic set of natural communities that share a large majority of their species dynamics, and environmental conditions". For example, based on their levels of endemism, Madagascar gets multiple listings, ancient Lake Baikal gets one, and the North American Great Lakes get none.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delta Amacuro</span> State of Venezuela

Delta Amacuro State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, and is the location of the Orinoco Delta. The Paria Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean are found to the north, Bolívar State is found to the south, the Atlantic Ocean and Guyana are found to the east, and Monagas State is found to the west. The state capital city is Tucupita.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llanos</span> Tropical grassland ecoregion in Colombia and Venezuela

The Llanos is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tucupita</span> Place in Delta Amacuro, Venezuela

Tucupita is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Delta Amacuro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orinoco Delta</span> Delta region of the Orinoco River

The Orinoco Delta is a vast river delta of the Orinoco River, located in eastern Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caño Manamo</span> River in Venezuela

The Caño Manamo is a distributary of the Orinoco River. It branches northwards from the main channel of the Orinoco to delimit the western edge of the Orinoco Delta, ultimately emptying into the Gulf of Paria. Tucupita, the capital of Delta Amacuro state, is located on the east bank (right) of the Caño Manamo. Manamo is a Warao word meaning "two."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caquetá moist forests</span> Ecoregion in the Amazon biome

The Caquetá moist forests (NT0107) is an ecoregion of tropical moist broad leaf forest to the east of the Andes in the east of Colombia, with a small section in Brazil, in the Amazon biome. The forests are in the transition between the Guiana and Amazon regions, and have highly diverse flora and fauna. They are relatively intact, although they are mostly unprotected and are threatened with deforestation to create cattle pastures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guianan savanna</span>

The Guianan savanna (NT0707) is an ecoregion in the south of Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname and the north of Brazil. It is in the Amazon biome. The savanna covers an area of rolling upland plains on the Guiana Shield between the Amazon and Orinoco basins. It includes forested areas, but these are shrinking steadily due to the effect of frequent fires, either accidental or deliberate. The ecoregion includes the Gran Sabana region of Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Negro–Branco moist forests</span> Tropical broadleaf forest covering portions of Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil

The Negro–Branco moist forests (NT0143) is an ecoregion of tropical moist broadleaf forest to the east of the Andes in southern Venezuela, eastern Colombia and northern Brazil, in the Amazon biome. It lies on the watershed between the Orinoco and Rio Negro basins. It includes both blackwater and whitewater rivers, creating different types of seasonally flooded forest. The vegetation is more typical of the Guiana region than the Amazon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marajó várzea</span>

The Marajó várzea (NT0138) is an ecoregion of seasonally and tidally flooded várzea forest in the Amazon biome. It covers a region of sedimentary islands and floodplains at the mouth of the Amazon that is flooded twice daily as the ocean tides push the river waters onto the land. The flooded forests provide food for a wide variety of fruit-eating fish, aquatic mammals, birds and other fauna. It has no protected areas and is threatened by cattle and water-buffalo ranching, logging and fruit plantations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte Alegre várzea</span>

The Monte Alegre várzea (NT0141) is an ecoregion of seasonally flooded várzea forest along the Amazon River in the Amazon biome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tocantins–Araguaia–Maranhão moist forests</span>

The Tocantins–Araguaia–Maranhão moist forests (NT0170), also called the Tocantins/Pindaré moist forests, is an ecoregion in the north of Brazil to the south of the mouth of the Amazon River. It is part of the Amazon biome. The ecoregion contains the city of Belém, capital of the state of Pará. It is the most developed part of the Amazon region, and is one of the most severely degraded natural habitats of the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iquitos várzea</span>

The Iquitos várzea (NT0128) is an ecoregion of flooded forest along rivers in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia in the west of the Amazon biome. The forest is seasonally flooded up to 7 metres (23 ft) by whitewater rivers carrying nutrient-rich sediment from the Andes. The meandering rivers often shift course, creating a complex landscape of oxbow lakes, marshes, levees and bars, with grasslands, shrubs and forests in different stages of succession. During the extended flood periods fish enter the forest in search of fruit. The várzea is accessible by the navigable rivers that run through it, and has suffered from extensive deforestation to extract timber and create pasture for livestock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guianan moist forests</span>

The Guianan moist forests (NT0125) is an ecoregion in the east of Venezuela, north of Brazil and the Guyanas. It is in the Amazon biome. The climate is hot and humid, with two rainy seasons each year. As of 1996 the tropical rainforest habitat was relatively intact, although there were mounting threats from illegal logging and gold mining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amazon–Orinoco–Southern Caribbean mangroves</span>

The Amazon–Orinoco–Southern Caribbean mangroves (NT1401) is an ecoregion along the coasts of Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guianan mangroves</span> Coastal ecoregion of southeastern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana

The Guianan mangroves (NT1411) is a coastal ecoregion of southeastern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil. The mangroves provide an important habitat for migrating birds that winter in the area. Large areas are intact, although they are threatened by destruction of the trees for timber and to make way for agriculture, and from upstream agricultural and industrial pollution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orinoco Delta swamp forests</span> Wetland region of Venezuela and Guyana

The Orinoco Delta swamp forests (NT0147) is an ecoregion of eastern Venezuela and northern Guyana covering the large and shifting Orinoco Delta. The vegetation is mostly permanently flooded rainforest. The ecoregion is relatively intact apart from a large area that was damaged by a failed flood control program in the 1960s. It is inaccessible, so logging is difficult, and the soil is unsuitable for farming. The main threat comes from oil exploration, which would bring an influx of settlers into the delta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apure–Villavicencio dry forests</span>

The Apure–Villavicencio dry forests (NT0201) is an ecoregion in Venezuela and Colombia to the east of the eastern cordillera of the Andes. The ecoregion covers the transition zone between montane forests in the Andes and the llanos, or lowland grasslands. It has been severely degraded by deforestation, farming and ranching. The remnants are poorly protected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Costa xeric shrublands</span>

The La Costa xeric shrublands (NT1309) is an ecoregion in Venezuela that stretches along the Caribbean coast. The dry scrub and savanna has been subject to modification since the 16th century by European colonists who replaced it by a patchwork of farm fields and pasturage. Little of the original habitat remains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramaribo swamp forests</span>

The Paramaribo swamp forests (NT0149) is an ecoregion in the coastal plain of Suriname covering a strip of land that is almost always flooded by fresh waters. It transitions into saline mangrove swamps towards the coast, and into submontane forests towards the interior.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Orinoco wetlands – Myers, WWF Abstract.
  2. WildFinder – WWF.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Schipper.
  4. 1 2 Orinoco wetlands – Myers, Climate Data.
  5. Orinoco wetlands – Myers, All Endangered.

Sources