The Uruguayan savanna spans the entirety of Uruguay, the southernmost part of Brazil (chiefly Rio Grande do Sul state), and a portion of Argentina along the Uruguay River, bounded by the South Atlantic on the east and the Río de la Plata estuary on the south. It is a subtropical grassland and savanna ecoregion built mostly of medium-tall grasslands, interwoven with palm savannas, gallery forests along the rivers, and scattered enclaves of submontane forest. The climate is mild and humid, with average temperatures rising from about 16°C in the south to 19°C in the north and annual precipitation increasing from roughly 1,000 mm in the south to 1,300 mm in the north. Once vast, the savanna is now critically endangered, with only small isolated patches of intact habitat left after widespread conversion to cattle ranching, and it serves as flagship habitat for the critically endangered glaucous macaw, whose bill is adapted to cracking palm nuts. For gardeners, the region's signature ornamental is the near-endemic yatay palm, a hardy feather palm whose stands define the local palm savannas.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 31.6°S, 55.0°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
11a-12b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
11b-13a
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.
About the tropical & subtropical grasslands, savannas & shrublands biome
Warm grasslands and savannas where grasses dominate and trees are scattered, maintained by seasonal rainfall, grazing, and fire. They support large herbivore communities and respond sharply to wet–dry cycles.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.
Climate-resilient picks · 52
These plants fit this ecoregion today AND remain in range under the mid-century SSP3-7.0 projection. Lead with these for a planting that holds up as the climate shifts.
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 grasslands, savannas & shrublands ecoregions to explore: