Satellite view of the Rio Negro campinarana, Brazil   Northern South America: Northwestern Brazil and eastern Colombia. Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   31,200 square miles (80,900 square kilometers) -- about the size of Maine Relatively Stable/Intact

· Haven in the Heath
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Haven in the Heath

Campinaranas, or "heath forests," are forest mosaics with vegetation types ranging from open herbaceous savannas to closed canopy forests. These patches occur on the transition between the Guyana Shield and Amazon basin. Here, vegetation types depend more on the soil type than on rainfall or temperature. Some campinarana patches cover thousands of square kilometers, while others are much smaller and irregularly shaped.

Special Features

Occurring in isolated patches along the Rio Negro and Rio Branco river basins in northern Brazil and eastern Colombia, these campinaranas are quite distinct from surrounding moist forests. Campinarana vegetation develops around circular swampy depressions of nutrient-poor soils embedded in a matrix of lowland tropical moist forest. The vegetation types range from savanna dominated by lichens and grasses to thorn forests with bare sand and herbaceous plants. Woodlands of shrubs and trees 65 to 100 feet (20 to 30 m) high are also interspersed throughout this ecoregion. The campinarana has no vines or trees with buttresses. Epiphytic orchids and bromeliads are abundant. Because of the incredible habitat diversity in these forests and isolation between patches, levels of endemic plants are high and include some primitive species such as cycads. Annual rainfall ranges between 100 to 120 inches (2500 to 3000 mm) and is well distributed throughout the year.

	Unlike most other canids, small-eared dogs are usually solitary and prefer to hunt small animals alone. These animals make few vocalizations, especially compared with the rich variety of notes made by the closely related bush dog.

Wild Side

More than 150 mammal species and some 360 bird species thrive in this ecoregion. With black faces and reddish-brown bodies, a group of 30 relatively rare black uakari monkeys sits atop the umbrella-like canopy of a towering Vochisia tree. The pale shining turquoise blue feathers and bright magenta areas on the chest and throat identify the colorful spangles cotinga. An endemic Rio Branco antbird can be identified early in the morning by its deliberate "pook-pook" calls. An acouchi, a small rodent, hops through the forest scavenging fruits. Along the forest-savanna transition, an orb-weaving spider has constructed its net in a clearing in the dense thicket. Numerous bats also use this small clearing. A spot-backed antwren and a chestnut-crested antbird follow army ants across the forest floor, feasting on the insects that run out of the way of the ants.

Cause for Concern

This ecoregion is fairly intact. The most severe threats are burning for pasture maintenance and cattle raising.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.