Pantanal of Nhecolândia

The Pantanal of Nhecolândia is one of the largest in area.  The immense majority is situated in the Municipality of Corumba, and a small parcel in the western part of the jurisdiction of Rio Verde do Mato Grosso.

According to data from the Empresa Brasileira de Planejamento de Transportes (1974), its area is 23,574 km2.  Its limits are: to the north, the Pantanal of Paiaguás, with the Taquari River marking the division, to the south, the Patanal of Abobral and Aquidauana, with the Rio Negro marking the division between the two neighbors, to the east, the Central Plateau, by way of the Alegria Hills equidistant the cities of Rio Verde de Mato Grosso and Coxim; to the west, the Paraguay River.  An areal view of this region shows a typical physiognomy characterized by ponds, salt flats, fields, woodlands and savannas.

One common physiognomy is the presence of forests, with woody species with natural pastures and, immediately beside, the ponds and salt flats.  These areas serve as watering holes for cattle and wildlife.

These ponds have vegetation both along their edges as well as aquatic plants.  On the periphery they have natural pasture, accentuated by salt, most often capim-mimoso (Axonopus pirpusii) and capim-mimosinho (Reinarochloa brasiliensis). The aquatic plants include small bromeliads (Azolla sp., Marsilea polycarpa), Amazon sword (Echinodorus paniculatus), California Arrowhead (Sargitaria montevidensis), Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) and aguapé (Eichhormia crassipes). Concentrations of Carandá Palms (Copernicia Alba) occur with great frequency in this region of the Pantanal.  The sandy soils of Nhecolãndia also promote Shapaja (Attalea phalerata), bocaiúva (Acrocomia totai) e tucum (Bactris glaucescens). Large volumes of water accumulate in low lying areas along the routes that conduct them to the heart of Nhecolândia.  The corixas present two types of Pickerelweed.  

The typical watercourses encountered in the Nhecolândia, and as well in other regions of the Pantanal are seasonally flooded rivers and corixas.

Another feature of this terrain are “barreiros”, which are depressions in the terrain of 100-200m2 in area. The soil here is muddy and the cattle lick it, presumably in search of mineral salts. The most important river in the area is the Taquari, which marks the division between Nhecolândia and the Paiaguás, along which are the same gallery forests.

The vegetation of Nhecolândia is a labyrinth of savannas alternating with areas of ponds and salt flats.  Some plant-habitat associations stand out in Nhecolândia with their continual presence in passing.  The principal associations are the “canjiqueiral”, the “gravatal” and the “caronal.”  The soils of the Pantanal of Nhecolândia are essentially sandy and of extremely fine grain.  You can encounter as well, veins of silt or clay. The savannas and fields of Nhecolândia are an emerging layer of fine sand.  The rich fodder of the savannas and fields of Nhecolândia falls back on two species of grasses, capim-mimoso (Axonopus purpusii) and capim-mimosinho (Reimarochloa brasiliensis).

_{SOURCE:
Recursos Forrageiros nativos do Pantanal mato-grossense, por Antonio Costa Allem e José Francisco Montenegro Valls. Brasília, 1987. (EMBRAPA-CENARGEN. Documentos, 8)}