Rio das Lontras Private Natural Heritage Reserve

The Rio das Lontras Private Natural Heritage Reserve (Portuguese: Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Rio das Lontras) is a private natural heritage reserve in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Rio das Lontras Private Natural Heritage Reserve
Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Rio das Lontras
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map showing the location of Rio das Lontras Private Natural Heritage Reserve
Map showing the location of Rio das Lontras Private Natural Heritage Reserve
Nearest citySanto Amaro da Imperatriz, Santa Catarina
Coordinates27°37′34″S 48°52′52″W / 27.626°S 48.881°W / -27.626; -48.881
Area27.7 hectares (68 acres)
DesignationPrivate natural heritage reserve
Created4 May 2005
AdministratorTeixeira family

Location

edit

The Rio das Lontras[a] Private Natural Heritage Reserve was created by decree on 3 April 2005, modified on 14 May 2009.[3] The decree creating the reserve, which had not yet been surveyed, said it had 23 hectares (57 acres). After a survey, the modified decree of May 2009 gave its area as 27.7 hectares (68 acres).[2] It includes land in the municipalities of São Pedro de Alcântara and Águas Mornas in the state of Santa Catarina.[1]

The average elevation is 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level.[4] Re reserve's streams supply the Forquilhas River, a tributary of the Cubatão River.[1] Average temperatures range from 16 to 25 °C (61 to 77 °F) with an average of 20.5 °C (68.9 °F). Annual rainfall is 1,390 millimetres (55 in) with no dry period but more rain in January and February.[4]

Environment

edit

The reserve covers a fragment of the Atlantic Forest biome.[5] It has rugged terrain with very well preserved dense montane rainforest and has a rich variety of trees, orchids, ferns and other flora. Fauna include anteaters, raccoons, coatis, armadillos, skunks, opossum, hedgehogs, squirrels, howler monkeys, ocelots, pumas and otters. Birds include weavers, toucans, woodpeckers, tanagers, jays, thrushes, ibises and hummingbirds.[1]

Conservation

edit

The objectives are to preserve the environment and enable scientific research and environmental education. The proprietors make a small income from sale of T-shirts. The reserve is close to the Serra do Tabuleiro State Park to the south, which has more than 90,000 hectares (220,000 acres) of protected land, and is part of the mosaic of ecosystems and ecological corridors of great importance for maintenance of biological diversity.[1]

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Rio das Lontras means "Otter River". The logo of the reserve is an otter drawn by cartoonist Ziraldo Alves Pinto.[1] The original name was RPPN PT after the names of the proprietors, Pimentel and Teixeira. The cartoonist asked for a name he could illustrate. Otters were often seen bathing in the river that skirts the reserve, so the reserve was given its present name.[2]

Sources

edit
  • Fabiana Dallacorte (July 2009), Plano de Manejo da RPPN Rio das Lontras - São Pedro de Alcântara e Águas Mornas, Santa Catarina (PDF) (in Portuguese), Brasília: ICMBio, retrieved 2016-05-18
  • Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Rio das Lontras (in Portuguese), MMA, retrieved 2016-05-17
  • RPPN Reserve Ecologica Rio das Lontras (in Portuguese), Associação dos Proprietários de Reservas Particulares do Patrimônio Natural de Santa Catarina, retrieved 2016-05-18
  • RPPN Rio das Lontras (in Portuguese), ICMBio, retrieved 2016-05-17