This book will present information on Pantanal vegetation including an updated checklist of flora, useful plants, ecological aspects and some topics never published for this region, such as lichens. It aims to be a reference for researchers, graduate and undergraduate students as well as stakeholders and decision makers interested in the flora and vegetation of one of the world’s largest tropical wetlands.

This book will present information on Pantanal vegetation including an updated checklist of flora, useful plants, ecological aspects and some topics never published for this region, such as lichens. It aims to be a reference for researchers, graduate and undergraduate students as well as stakeholders and decision makers interested in the flora and vegetation of one of the world’s largest tropical wetlands.

Is an illustrated guide for easy identification of the main species of the flora of the Pantanal wetlands in Brazil, form herbaceous plants to trees, except grasses, sedges and aquatics. It contains photographsof more than 500 species, covering the most important plants for man and fauna. In a straightforward writing, it brings together synthetic information on regional utilization (Ethnobotany) and potential use of plants, such as for bees, fish bait, forage, fruit, medicine, ornamental, wood, etc. In addition to the etymology to scientific and popular names, to habitat, flowering and fruiting times, occurrence (vegetation and soil types) and geographic distribution of the species, brief observations on ecology and eventually on cultivation are given. This book is of interest to tourists, students, professionals, ranchers, and friends of Pantanal and of Brazilian plants.

Until now there has never been a monograph devoted to the Pantanal, the world's largest wetland. The subject has received scant attention in the international literature, so a number of scattered Portuguese papers are reviewed for an English-language readership. The book presents a broad treatment of the Pantanal, ranging from geology to flora, fauna, and the human presence. The publication of this book is most timely, and will be of crucial importance in decisions affecting the ambitious project for a second South American inland Waterway.

This book provides readers with in-depth insights into the changes in the Pantanal wetland from its formation to the actual and likely future states. It reveals that today’s Pantanal is an evolutionary consequence of geological, ecological and, more recently, man-made events taking place at distinct space-time intervals. Topics include geotectonics and sun-earth interactions, which largely dictate the rate of drastic changes that eventually disrupt ecological stability and radically rebuild the regional landscape. Furthermore, the biota-climate system is discussed as a major driver reshaping the ecohydrology functioning of the landscape on an intermediate timescale. Also covered are major changes in the landscape ecohydrology and biodiversity due to recent land-use and climate changes induced by humankind in the Anthropocene. The ability to recognize how those temporal scales impact the Pantanal wetland provides the opportunity for wise management approaches and the sustainable development of the region.

A ground breaking study of primates that live in flooded habitats around the world.

There are many famous wetlands in the world that have been deemed important for the homeostasis ofthe biosphere and accorded some form ofprotected status in view of the richness of their flora and fauna. T}1e Pantanal, located almost directly in the center ofthe South American continent, is among the largest such wetlands in the world. It is, in fact, the largest wetland that is still in a nearly natural state and has not been extensively modified by man for agriculture. The extent of the region covered by flood waters at the end of each rainy season varies from year to year, sometimes considerably, so estimates of the exact area it occupies have varied enormously. The size of the 2 2 Pantanal has been reported to be between 80,000 km (Bonetto, 1975) and 250,000 km (Tundisi and Matsumura-Tundisi, 1985). The most co~on1y accepted estimates at the present time are approximately 130,000 to 140,000 km , supported by estimates made from Nimbus-7 satellite observations (Hamilton et al. , 1996). However, Por (1995) suggested that the area extending into Bolivia and Paraguay has not been satisfactorily 2 surveyed, leading him to accept the figure of 200,000 km as the area of the entire Pantanal, ineluding all of its extensions. The main reason for the year to year variation in the extent of the flooding is the considerable difference in timing of the rainfall on the watershed.