Vassununga State Park

The Vassununga State Park is 245 kilometres (152 mi) from the city of São Paulo.^[1] The park is on both sides of km 245 of the Rodovia Anhangüera (SP-330 highway) in the municipality of Santa Rita do Passa Quatro in the northeastern region of the State of São Paulo. It has six unconnected sections: Capão da Várzea, Capetinga Oeste, Capetinga Lesta, Praxedes, Maravilha and Pé de Gigante.^[2] It has a total area of 2,071.42 hectares (5,118.6 acres), and protects an area of Atlantic semi-deciduous forest and cerrado forest.^[1]

The region was first developed for cattle farming, then from 1850 for coffee plantations. The landowners often maintained forest reserves to conserve soil for future plantations, preserve water sources, provide natural nurseries for coffee plants, give a source of wood for construction, maintain an area to hunt and so on. One such area was the property of the Vassununga Sugar Mill and contained the largest and most beautiful forest of jequitibás-rosa in the region.^[3] The sugar company went bankrupt in 1969.^[4] The Vassununga State Park was created through state decree 52.546 of 26 October 1970 to preserve this area of forest and its fauna.^[3]

The Vassununga State Park contains one of the last remnants of Interior Atlantic Forest in the area, with semideciduous rainforest and cerrado forest and associated fauna. There are many jequitibá-rosa (Cariniana legalis) trees, including the largest in the state that may be visited by the public. The forest covers hills, cliffs and fluvial plains, creating a beautiful landscape of emergent forest in which the huge jequitibá-rosa trees stand out.^[3]

The park is in a highly fragmented landscape under considerable stress from human activities. There are few native ecosystems and particularly high risk of erosion near the watersheds and rivers. A strategy of connecting the fragments of the park by means of ecological corridors or stepping stones, and of ensuring sustainable use in the lands around it would be extremely useful in maintaining biodiversity.^[5]

Flora include specimens of jequitibá-rosa (Cariniana legalis), guaritá (Astronium graveolens), caixeta-preta (Tabebuia cassinoides), capixingui (Croton floribundus), pau-pereira (Platycyamus regnellii), copaiba, peroba-rosa (Aspidosperma polyneuron), figueira (Ficus), cedro-rosa (Cedrela fissilis), araribá (Centrolobium tomentosum) and paineira (Spirotheca rivieri).^[2]

Birds species include the yellow-headed caracara (Milvago chimachima), solitary tinamou (Tinamus solitarius), Amazon parrots, Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata), blue ground dove (Claravis pretiosa), violaceous quail-dove (Geotrygon violacea), chestnut-bellied seed finch (Oryzoborus angolensis), hummingbirds, toucans, pionus parrots, black-throated grosbeak (Saltator fuliginosus), rufous-bellied thrush (Turdus rufiventris), forpus parrots, great kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus), thraupis, woodpeckers, tataupa tinamou (Crypturellus tataupa), small-billed tinamou (Crypturellus parvirostris), partridges, seriemas, hawks and Cathartiformes.^[2]

Other birds observed in the park include the rufous-tailed jacamar (Galbula ruficauda), squirrel cuckoo (Piaya cayana), southern beardless tyrannulet (Camptostoma obsoletum), purple-throated euphonia (Euphonia chlorotica), grey-headed tanager (Eucometis penicillata), barred antshrike (Thamnophilus doliatus), pale-breasted thrush (Turdus leucomelas), toco toucan (Ramphastos toco), white-throated spadebill (Platyrinchus mystaceus), sepia-capped flycatcher (Leptopogon amaurocephalus), silver-beaked tanager (Ramphocelus carbo), planalto tyrannulet (Phyllomyias fasciatus), bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) and red-eyed vireo (Vireo olivaceus).^[6]

Mammals include maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus), cougar (Puma concolor), capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), robust capuchin monkey, crab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus), bush dog (Speothos venaticus), oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus), common agouti, paca, tayra (Eira barbara) and neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis).^[2]