Pantanal#Protected areas

The name "Pantanal" comes from the Portuguese word {{Lang|pt|pântano}} and the Spanish word pantano that mean "swamp", "wetland", "bog", "quagmire", or "marsh" plus the suffix -al, that means "abundance, agglomeration, collection".{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

The Pantanal covers about {{cvt|140000|–|160000|km2}}{{Cite journal |last1=Keddy |first1=Paul A. |last2=Fraser |first2=Lauchlan H. |last3=Solomeshch |first3=Ayzik I. |last4=Junk |first4=Wolfgang J. |last5=Campbell |first5=Daniel R. |last6=Arroyo |first6=Mary T. K. |last7=Alho |first7=Cleber J. R. |date=January 2009 |title=Wet and Wonderful: The World's Largest Wetlands Are Conservation Priorities |journal=BioScience |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=39–51 |doi=10.1525/bio.2009.59.1.8 |s2cid=53536143 |issn=1525-3244 |url=http://arcabc.ca/islandora/object/tru:62/datastream/PDF/download}}{{Citation |last1=Marengo |first1=Jose A. |title=Climate Change Scenarios in the Pantanal |date=2015 |work=Dynamics of the Pantanal Wetland in South America |volume=37 |pages=227–238 |editor-last=Bergier |editor-first=Ivan |publisher=Springer International Publishing |doi=10.1007/698_2015_357 |isbn=9783319187341 |last2=Oliveira |first2=Gilvan S. |last3=Alves |first3=Lincoln M. |editor2-last=Assine |editor2-first=Mario Luis}} of gently sloped basin that receives runoff from the upland areas (the Planalto highlands) and slowly releases the water through the Paraguay River and tributaries. The formation is a result of the large, concave, pre-Andean depression of the Earth's crust, related to the Andean orogeny of the Tertiary. It constitutes an enormous internal river delta, in which several rivers flowing from the surrounding plateau merge, depositing their sediments and erosion residues, which have been filling the large depression area of the Pantanal. This area is also one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger Parana-Paraguay Plain area, which encompasses a total of {{cvt|1.5|e6km2|sqmi|abbr=off}}.{{Cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries_regions/profile_segments/la.plata-WR_eng.stm |title=AQUASTAT - FAO's Information System on Water and Agriculture |website=www.fao.org |access-date=2019-10-09}}

The Pantanal is bounded by the Chiquitano dry forests to the west and northwest, by the Arid Chaco dry forests to the southwest, and the Humid Chaco to the south. The Cerrado savannas lie to the north, east, and southeast.

The Pantanal is a tropical wet and dry region with an average annual temperature of {{cvt|24|C|F}} and rainfall between {{convert|1000|and|1250|mm|in}} per year. Extreme temperatures can reach a high of {{cvt|41|C|F}} or drop to {{cvt|-1|C|F}}. Throughout the year, temperature varies about {{cvt|6.0|C-change}} with the warmest month being November (with an average temperature of {{cvt|26|C|F|disp=or}}) and the coldest month being June (with an average temperature of {{cvt|20|C|F|disp=or}}). Its wettest month is January (with an average of {{cvt|340|mm|in|disp=or}}) and its driest is June (with an average of {{cvt|3|mm|in|disp=or}}).{{Cn|date=September 2024}}

File:Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brasil.jpg

Floodplain ecosystems such as the Pantanal are defined by their seasonal inundation and desiccation. They shift between phases of standing water and phases of dry soil, when the water table can be well below the root region. Soils range from high levels of sand in higher areas to higher amounts of clay and silt in riverine areas.

Elevation of the Pantanal ranges from {{cvt|80|to|150|m}} above sea level. Annual rainfall over the flood basin is between {{cvt|1000|and|1500|mm}}, with most rainfall occurring between November and March. Annual average precipitation ranged from 920 to 1,540 mm in the years 1968–2000. In the Paraguay River portion of the Pantanal, water levels rise between two meters to five meters seasonally; water fluctuations in other parts of the Pantanal are less than this. Flood waters tend to flow slowly ({{cvt|2|to|10|cm}} per second) due to the low gradients and high resistance offered by the dense vegetation.

When rising river waters first contact previously dry soil, the waters become oxygen-depleted, rendering the water environs anoxic. Many natural fish kills can occur if there are no oxygenated water refuges available. The reason for this remains speculative: it may be due to the growth of toxin-producing bacteria in the deoxygenated water rather than as a direct result of lack of oxygen.

{{main|List of plants of Pantanal vegetation of Brazil}}

The vegetation of the Pantanal, often referred to as the "Pantanal complex", is a mixture of plant communities typical of a variety of surrounding biome regions: these include moist tropical Amazonian rainforest plants, semiarid woodland plants typical of northeast Brazil, Brazilian cerrado savanna plants, and plants of the Chaco savannas of Bolivia and Paraguay. Forests usually occur at higher altitudes of the region, while grasslands cover the seasonally inundated areas. The key limiting factors for growth are inundation and, even more importantly, water-stress during the dry season.

According to Embrapa, approximately 2,000 different plants have been identified in the Pantanal biome and classified according to their potential, with some presenting significant medicinal promise.{{Cite web |url=http://www.mma.gov.br/biomas/pantanal |title=Pantanal |last=Ministério do Meio Ambiente |website=www.mma.gov.br |language=pt-br |access-date=2019-06-14}}

The Pantanal ecosystem is home to some 463 species of birds, 269 species of fish, more than 236 species of mammals,{{Cite journal |last1=Junk |first1=Wolfgang J. |last2=Brown |first2=Mark |last3=Campbell |first3=Ian C. |last4=Finlayson |first4=Max |last5=Gopal |first5=Brij |last6=Ramberg |first6=Lars |last7=Warner |first7=Barry G. |date=2006-09-29 |title=The comparative biodiversity of seven globally important wetlands: a synthesis |journal=Aquatic Sciences |volume=68 |issue=3 |pages=400–414 |doi=10.1007/s00027-006-0856-z |bibcode=2006AqSci..68..400J |s2cid=24369809 |issn=1015-1621}} 141 species of reptiles and amphibians, and over 9,000 subspecies of invertebrates.

The apple snail (Pomacea lineata) is a keystone species in Pantanal's ecosystem. When the wetlands are flooded once a year, the grass and other plants will eventually die and start to decay. During this process, decomposing microbes deplete the shallow water of all oxygen, suffocating larger decomposers. Unlike other decomposing animals, the apple snails have both gills and lungs, making it possible for them to thrive in anoxic waters where they recycle the nutrients. To get oxygen, they extend a long snorkel to the water surface, pumping air into their lungs. This ability allows them to consume all the dead plant matter and turn it into nutritious fertilizer available for the plants in the area. The snails themselves are also food for a variety of animals.{{cite journal |title=Feeding and growth of apple snail Pomacea lineata in the Pantanal wetland, Brazil--a stable isotope approach. |date=2002 |pmid=12725426 |doi=10.1080/10256010208033268 |volume=38 |issue=4 |journal=Isotopes Environ Health Stud |pages=227–43 |last=Fellerhoff |first=C. |bibcode=2002IEHS...38..227F |s2cid=204150084}}{{cite web |url=https://naturebox.org.uk/2013/04/14/apple-snail-unlikely-hero-of-the-pantanal/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601211029/https://naturebox.org.uk/2013/04/14/apple-snail-unlikely-hero-of-the-pantanal/ |title=Apple Snail: Unlikely Hero of the Pantanal |archive-date=1 June 2016 |work=Nature Box |access-date=9 September 2016 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00vl33r |title=Secrets of our Living Planet, Waterworlds, Enter the apple snail |publisher=BBC Two |date=1 July 2012 |access-date=9 September 2016}}

Among the rarest animals to inhabit the wetland of the Pantanal are the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) and the giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis). Parts of the Pantanal are also home to the following endangered or threatened species: the hyacinth macaw (Anodorhyncus hyacinthinus) (a bird endangered due to smuggling), the crowned solitary eagle (Buteogallus coronatus), the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), the bush dog (Speothos venaticus), the South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris), and the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). Common species in the Pantanal include the capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), and the yacare caiman (Caiman yacare). According to 1996 data, there were 10 million caimans in the Pantanal, making it the highest concentration of crocodilians in the world.{{cite book |last=Swarts |first=Frederick A. |title=The Pantanal of Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia: Selected Discourses on the World's Largest Remaining Wetland System: Selected Papers and Addresses from the World Conference on Preservation and Sustainable Development in the Pantanal |date=2000 |publisher=Hudson MacArthur Publishers |isbn=978-0-9675946-0-6 |page=7}} The Pantanal is home to one of the largest and healthiest jaguar (Panthera onca) populations on Earth.{{cite web |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/fall-2021/articles/restoring-the-jaguar-corridor |title=Restoring the jaguar corridor |publisher=World Wildlife Foundation |date=2021 |access-date=29 January 2024}}

There are thirteen species of herons and egrets, six species of ibises and spoonbills, and five species of kingfishers that use the Pantanal as a breeding and feeding ground. There are nineteen species of parrots documented in the Pantanal, including five species of macaws. Some migratory birds include the American golden plover, peregrine falcon, and the bobolink.{{Cite journal |last1=Alho |first1=Cleber J. R. |last2=Vieira |first2=Luiz M. |date=1997 |title=Fish and wildlife resources in the Pantanal wetlands of Brazil and potential disturbances from the release of environmental contaminants |journal=Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry |language=en |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=71–74 |doi=10.1002/etc.5620160107 |issn=1552-8618 |doi-access=free|bibcode=1997EnvTC..16...71A }}

Most fish are detritivores, primarily ingesting fine particles from sediments and plant surfaces. This is characteristic of fish living in South American flood-plains in general. Fish migration between river channels and flood-plain regions occurs seasonally. These fish have many adaptations that allow them to survive in the oxygen-depleted flood-plain waters.

In addition to the caiman, some of the reptiles that inhabit the Pantanal are the yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus), the gold tegu (Tupinambis teguixin), the red-footed tortoise (Geochelone carbonaria), and the green iguana (Iguana iguana).

File:Tapir Pantanal.jpg|Lowland tapir

File:Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus wild.jpg|Hyacinth macaws

File:Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Pantanal region, Brazil.jpg|Giant anteater

File:4987 Pantanal jaguar JF.jpg|Pantanal jaguar

File:Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (1).jpg|Capybaras

File:Blastoceros dichotomus by anagoria .jpg|Marsh deer

File:Black Howler, Pantanal.jpg|Black howler monkeys

File:Tamandua Pantanal.jpg|Southern tamandua

File:Caracara plancus -Mato Grosso -Brazil-8.jpg|Crested caracara

File:Cathartes Pantanal.jpg|Lesser yellow-headed vulture

File:Caiman yacare Pantanal.jpg|Yacare caiman

The Pantanal region includes essential sanctuaries for migratory birds, critical nursery grounds for aquatic life, and refuges for such creatures as the yacare caiman, deer, and Pantanal jaguar.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h7tcAAAAMAAJ&q=pantanal |title=A Biological Assessment of the Aquatic Ecosystems of the Pantanal |last=Willink |first=Philip W. |publisher=The University of Texas |year=2000 |access-date=2008-08-31 |isbn=9781881173359}} Most species are not under threat due to the low deforestation rates (less than 17%) of native vegetation now in the area due to new regulations.{{Cite journal |last=Chiaravalloti |first=Rafael Morais |date=2019 |title=The Displacement of Insufficiently 'Traditional' Communities: Local Fisheries in the Pantanal |journal=Conservation & Society |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=173–183 |issn=0972-4923 |jstor=26611743 |doi=10.4103/cs.cs_18_58 |doi-access=free}}

Some of the causes which threaten the Pantanal ecosystems are:

• Fishing
• Commercial fishing is focused on only a few species and is probably not sustainable.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ae1OJ-vyKSkC&q=pantanal |title=The Ecohydrology of South American Rivers and Wetlands |last=McClain |first=Michael E. |publisher=International Association of Hydrological Sciences |year=2002 |isbn=1-901502-02-3 |access-date=2008-08-31}} National and international sport fishing in the Paraguay river and its tributaries are the main focus for fishing activities. Local fishing communities have been under close watch by environmentalists as well.
• Cattle-ranching:
• Approximately 99% of the land in the Pantanal is privately owned for the purpose of agriculture and ranching, even though there are some regulations on available land based on the extent of flooding during each wet season.{{cite web |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0110_030110_pantanal.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030118033344/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0110_030110_pantanal.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 18, 2003 |title=Behind Threats to World's Largest Freshwater Wetland |last=Brendle |first=Anna |date=January 10, 2003 |publisher=National Geographic News |pages=1–2 |access-date=August 23, 2011}}
• There are 2500 fazendas in the region and up to eight million cattle.{{cite web |author=Araras Eco Lodge |url=http://www.ladatco.com/PAN-GATE.htm |title=Pantanal - Brazil's undiscovered wilderness |website=Ladatco Tours |access-date=2008-01-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602202214/http://www.ladatco.com/PAN-GATE.htm |archive-date=2008-06-02}}
• Erosion and sedimentation caused by this activity alter the soil and hydrological characteristics of Pantanal flood-plain ecosystems; consequently, native species are threatened by the change in ecosystem variables.
• Hunting, poaching, and smuggling of endangered species:{{WWF ecoregion|id=nt0907|name=Pantanal |access-date=August 23, 2011}} Reptile, wildcat, and parrot species are particularly at risk from the smuggling industry due to their high value on the black market.
• Uncontrolled tourism and overuse of natural resources
• Deforestation
• Establishment of logging companies during political turmoils in the region resulted in peak deforestation rates between 1978 and 1989. Many livelihoods were dependent on harvesting rubber trees as new waves of migrants arrived, resulting in what is now there today.
• Silt run-off from deforested highlands alters soil hydrology and is a significant threat to the Pantanal.
• Pollution from gold mining operations and agro-industry
• The Pantanal is a natural water treatment system as it removes chemicals, including pollutants, from water. Pollution from industrial development (especially gold mining) can harm native flora and fauna.
• However, water quality in the Pantanal was not significantly degraded as of 2002.
• Pollution from sewage systems and pesticides
• Movement to large-scale agriculture of food crops, mainly soy-beans, has adopted the use of large quantities of chemical pesticides and fertilizers which leach into the soil or run-off to the flood plains of the Pantanal.
• Infrastructure development (shipping canals, raised roads, pipelines)
• The proposed plan to dredge the Paraguay and Paraná Rivers to allow oceangoing ships to travel {{cvt|3442|km}} inland is of particular concern and could affect the hydrology (flooding and drainage cycles) of the region, and therefore impact the ecosystem.{{cite web |url=http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_freshwater/freshwater_problems/river_decline/10_rivers_risk/la_plata/laplata_threats/ |title=The Threats of Dams and Navigation Infrastructure on La Plata |last=Gunther |first=Michel |work=10 Rivers most at Risk |publisher=WWF |access-date=August 23, 2011}}
• Forest Fires
• In late 2020, a quarter of the wetland was destroyed by an unprecedented fire attributed to climate change. An area estimated of about {{Convert|7681|mi2|km2|order=flip}} was razed by the fire, killing millions of vertebrates.{{Cite journal |last1=Tomas |first1=Walfrido Moraes |last2=Berlinck |first2=Christian Niel |last3=Chiaravalloti |first3=Rafael Morais |last4=Faggioni |first4=Gabriel Paganini |last5=Strüssmann |first5=Christine |last6=Libonati |first6=Renata |last7=Abrahão |first7=Carlos Roberto |last8=do Valle Alvarenga |first8=Gabriela |last9=de Faria Bacellar |first9=Ana Elisa|last10=de Queiroz Batista|first10=Flávia Regina |last11=Bornato |first11=Thainan Silva |date=2021-12-16 |title=Distance sampling surveys reveal 17 million vertebrates directly killed by the 2020's wildfires in the Pantanal, Brazil |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=23547 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-02844-5 |pmid=34916541 |pmc=8677733 |bibcode=2021NatSR..1123547T |issn=2045-2322}} Experts say 2020 was the most active year on record for wildfires.{{Cite news |last1=Arréllaga |first1=Maria Magdalena |last2=Londoño |first2=Ernesto |last3=Casado |first3=Letícia |date=2020-09-04 |title=Brazil Fires Burn World's Largest Tropical Wetlands at 'Unprecedented' Scale |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/04/world/americas/brazil-wetlands-fires-pantanal.html |access-date=2020-10-18 |issn=0362-4331}} Until November 2020, Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) had detected more than 21,200 fires in the Pantanal biome, a figure that is 69% higher than 2005, when the INPE recorded roughly 12,500 fires. There were 8,106 fires in September 2020 alone—more than four times the historic average for the month.{{Cite web |last=Ivana Kottasová, Henrik Pettersson and Krystina Shveda |date=2020-11-13 |title=The world's largest wetlands are on fire. That's a disaster for all of us |website=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/13/americas/pantanal-fires-climate-change-intl/index.html |access-date=2020-11-19}}
• Climate change
• Current predictive climate models indicate a progressive increase in the frequency of extreme events (for example, extreme rainfalls and extended droughts). These events could affect the Pantanal's ecosystem functioning, amplifying and worsening human modifications of hydrological and environmental conditions in the basin.{{Cite journal |last1=Thielen |first1=Dirk |last2=Schuchmann |first2=Karl-Ludwig |last3=Ramoni-Perazzi |first3=Paolo |last4=Marquez |first4=Marco |last5=Rojas |first5=Wilmer |last6=Quintero |first6=Jose Isrrael |last7=Marques |first7=Marinêz Isaac |date=2020-01-07 |title=Quo vadis Pantanal? Expected precipitation extremes and drought dynamics from changing sea surface temperature |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=e0227437 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0227437 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=6946591 |pmid=31910441 |bibcode=2020PLoSO..1527437T |doi-access=free}}

File:Aerea.jpg

A portion of the Pantanal in Brazil has been protected as the Pantanal Matogrossense National Park. This {{cvt|1350|km2|sqmi}} park, established in September 1981, is located in the municipality of Poconé in the State of Mato Grosso, between the mouths of the Baía de São Marcos and the Gurupi Rivers. The park was designated a Ramsar Site of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention on May 24, 1993.

Encontro das Águas State Park and Guirá State Park are state parks of Mato Grosso in the Pantanal.

The SESC Pantanal Private Natural Heritage Reserve (Reserva Particular do Patrimonio Natural SESC Pantanal) is a privately owned reserve in Brazil, established in 1998 and {{cvt|878.7|km2|sqmi}} in size. It is located in the north-eastern portion, known as "Poconé" Pantanal, not far from the Pantanal National Park. It is a mix of permanent rivers, seasonal streams, permanent and seasonal floodplain freshwater lakes, shrub-dominated wetlands and seasonally flooded forests, all dedicated to nature preservation, and was designated a Ramsar Site of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.

Otuquis National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area and San Matías Integrated Management Natural Area are protected areas of Bolivia in the Pantanal. The entrance to Otuquis National Park is through the town of Puerto Suarez.

Brazil:

• Miranda, Mato Grosso do Sul
• Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul
• Barão de Melgaço, Mato Grosso
• Bodoquena, Mato Grosso do Sul
• Bonito, Mato Grosso do Sul
• Cáceres, Mato Grosso
• Corumbá, Mato Grosso do Sul
• Coxim, Mato Grosso do Sul
• Ladário, Mato Grosso do Sul
• Poconé, Mato Grosso

Bolivia:

• Puerto Quijarro, Santa Cruz
• Puerto Suárez, Santa Cruz

Paraguay:

• Bahía Negra, Alto Paraguay
• Fuerte Olimpo, Alto Paraguay

• Pantanal appears as a natural wonder in the strategy game Civilization VI.
• John Grisham's novel The Testament largely takes place in the Pantanal.
• Pantanal is the title of a Brazilian-produced telenovela whose setting is the Brazilian Pantanal.
• The Jack McKinney Robotech novel Before the Invid Storm makes reference to former soldiers of the Army of the Southern Cross called the Pantanal Brigade by the character Major Alice Harper Argus.
• The Twilight Saga: The Amazon Coven: "The Amazon coven consists of three sisters, Kachiri, Zafrina, and Senna, all natives of the Pantanal wetlands."The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide p. 185.
• Pantanal makes an appearance in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands as a region called Caimanes.

{{Portal|Wetlands}}

• Wildlife of Brazil
• Iberá Wetlands

{{Reflist}}

{{Wikivoyage|Pantanal}}

{{commons and category|Pantanal}}

• [http://www.pantanalescapes.com/locations/map.html Pantanal maps and tourist information]
• [http://www.pantanalnature.com.br/ Pantanal Nature]. Information on wildlife in Pantanal.
• [http://www.exoticbirding.com/brazil/pantanal/checklist.html Patanal bird checklist]

{{Physical geography topics}}

{{States of Brazil}}

{{World Heritage Sites in Brazil}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Flooded grasslands and savannas

Category:Ecoregions of Bolivia

Category:Ecoregions of Brazil

Category:Ecoregions of Paraguay

Category:Ecoregions of South America

Category:La Plata basin

Category:Floodplains of South America

Category:Natural regions of South America

Category:Swamps of South America

Category:Grasslands of Bolivia

Category:Grasslands of Brazil

Category:Grasslands of Paraguay

Category:Geography of Mato Grosso do Sul

Category:Landforms of Mato Grosso do Sul

Category:Wetlands of Brazil

Category:Wetlands of Bolivia

Category:Wetlands of Paraguay

Category:Regions of Brazil

Category:Regions of South America

Category:Physiographic provinces

Category:Ramsar sites in Brazil

Category:Ramsar sites in Bolivia

Category:Ramsar sites in Paraguay

Category:Biosphere reserves of Brazil

Category:World Heritage Sites in Brazil