The Central Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest Mosaic () is a protected area mosaic in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The mosaic is inland, to the east of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

History

A project to create three new protected area mosaics in the Serra do Mar Ecological Corridor began in December 2005, coordinated by the National Council of the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve. These were the Bocaina Mosaic, Central Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest Mosaic and Mantiqueira Mosaic. Funding was provided by Conservation International, the Fund for the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. The Central Coastal Atlantic Forest Mosaic was recognized by the Ministry of the Environment on 11 December 2006. There were originally 22 conservation units in the mosaic. Others were added, and as of 2010 there were 29 units, with a total area of . The strategic plan was developed in 2010.

Extent

The Central Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest Mosaic encompasses 14 municipalities: Bom Jardim, Cachoeiras de Macacu, Casimiro de Abreu, Duque de Caxias, Guapimirim, Itaboraí, Macaé, Magé, Miguel Pereira, Nova Friburgo, Nova Iguaçu, Petrópolis, Rio Bonito, São Gonçalo, São José do Vale do Rio Preto, Silva Jardim, Teresópolis and Tanguá.

Environment

Altitudes range from sea level at the Guanabara Bay to in the Três Picos State Park, with different degrees of human occupation, resulting in great diversity of environments and landscapes. The land in the lower regions was formed by sediments deposited by the rivers and the sea. In the coastal areas there are several meandering rivers that deposit fine sediment carried from the mountains, creating an ideal environment for the growth of mangroves, which are concentrated in the Guapimirim Environmental Protection Area and the Guanabara Ecological Station. Further from the shore there are patches of dense alluvial rainforest. Further back again this starts to merge into dense lowland and sub-montane rainforest in the Bacia do Rio Macacu, Guapi-Guapiaçu and Suruí environmental protection areas.

Further inland, as the land rises, there are fragments of dense montane forest, dense high montane forest and alpine meadows. To the north of the mosaic there are patches of submontane and montane seasonal forest. Originally the most common form of vegetation in the mosaic was dense lowland rainforest, followed by dense submontane and montane rainforest. The semideciduous montane forest and alpine meadows were the least common. The native vegetation has been subject to exploitation and destruction for several centuries. Today there are 511 fragments of forest and mangroves, with an area of .

Conservation units

Conservation units in the mosaic include:

Unit Type Area (ha) Level Municipalities CreatedAraponga Municipal nature park 1,376 Municipal São José do Vale do Rio Preto 2006Araras Biological reserve 3,862 State Petrópolis 1977Bacia do Rio Macacu Environmental protection area 19,508 State Cachoeiras de Macacu, Guapimirim, Itaboraí, Magé 2002Bacia dos Frades Environmental protection area 7,500 State Teresópolis 1990CEC-Tinguá Private natural heritage reserve 16 Federal Tinguá 2003El Nagal Private natural heritage reserve 17 Federal Magé Fazenda Suspiro Private natural heritage reserve 18 Federal Teresópolis 1999Floresta do Jacarandá Environmental protection area 2,700 State Teresópolis 1985 Graziela Maciel Barroso Private natural heritage reserve 184 Federal Petrópolis 2005 Guanabara Ecological station 1,935 Federal Guapimirim, São Gonçalo 2006 Guapi-Guapiaçú Environmental protection area 15,538 Municipal Guapimirim 2004Guapimirim Environmental protection area 13,825 Federal Guapimirim, Itaboraí, Magé, São Gonçalo 1984 Macaé de Cima Environmental protection area 35,037 State Nova Friburgo, Silva Jardim 2001 Maravilha Environmental protection area 1,700 Municipal São José do Vale do Rio Preto 2006 Montanhas de Teresópolis Municipal nature park 4,397 Municipal Teresópolis 2009 Montes das Flores Ecological station 212 Municipal São José do Vale do Rio Preto Paraíso Ecological station 4,920 State Guapimirim, Cachoeiras de Macacu 1987 Pedra das Flores Natural monument 346 Municipal São José do Vale do Rio Preto 2005 Pedra do Elefante Natural monument 530 Municipal Petrópolis 2010Petrópolis Environmental protection area 59,618 Federal Petrópolis, Magé, Duque de Caxias, Guapimirim 1992 Petrópolis Municipal nature park 17 Municipal Petrópolis 2002Querência Private natural heritage reserve 5 Federal Magé 1999 Jaceruba Environmental protection area 247 Municipal Nova Iguaçu 2002 Serra do Barbosão Municipal nature park 878 Municipal Tanguá 2007 Serra dos Órgãos National park 20,024 Federal Petrópolis, Guapimirim, Magé, Teresópolis, São Gonçalo 1939 Suruí Environmental protection area 14,146 Municipal Magé 2007 Taquara Municipal nature park 19 Municipal Duque de Caxias 1992Tinguá Biological reserve 26,136 Federal Miguel Pereira, Petrópolis, Nova Iguaçu, Duque de Caxias 1989 Três Picos State park 58,800 State Cachoeiras de Macacu, Teresópolis, Nova Friburgo, Silva Jardim, Guapimirim 2002

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