The Caatinga Enclaves moist forests are a scattered archipelago of moist forest "islands" in northeastern Brazil, concentrated in the state of Ceará and surrounded by the much drier Caatinga shrubland and thorn forest. These enclaves cling to the windward slopes of a handful of upland plateaus, including the Chapada do Araripe, Serra de Ibiapaba, Serra de Baturité, and Serra da Borborema. The vegetation is tall Atlantic semi-deciduous forest, structured in several layers with emergent trees exceeding 30 meters and dominated by legumes (Fabaceae), mahoganies (Meliaceae), and dogbanes (Apocynaceae). The climate is tropical, with annual rainfall around 1,000 to 1,300 millimeters and a pronounced dry season. Biologically these forests blend species from the Amazon, the Atlantic Forest, and the Caatinga, and they shelter notable endemic birds such as the Araripe manakin; the Araripe-Apodi National Forest, established in 1946 on the Chapada do Araripe, was the first national forest created in Brazil. Gardeners may recognize native genera here such as the conifer Podocarpus, an ornamental woody plant grown well beyond its tropical range.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 3.9°S, 40.9°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.4°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Realm
Neotropic
Approximate area
1,852 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Recover (Dinerstein NNH 3)
About the tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome
Warm, wet, highly productive forests — including tropical rainforests — with closed canopies, near year-round growing seasons, and the richest terrestrial biodiversity on Earth. Low seasonality and high rainfall sustain dense, layered vegetation from canopy to forest floor.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
No catalog plants intersect this ecoregion's zone range. As the catalog grows to cover this region's climate band, suggestions will surface here.
Collections for this ecoregion
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregions to explore: