The importance of the Vale Natural Reserve for the conservation of the native tropical forests at t at northern Espírito Santo State, Brazil

Abstract

The forests of northern Espírito Santo State that are distributed along the valley of the Doce river have historically suffered from devastation. In this scenario, in the 50’s, the Vale do Rio Doce Company at that time, nowadays Vale S.A., started buying land in municipality of Linhares for the formation of a timber stock for the production of sleepers. This project has been modified in its original design for today consolidate the Natural Reserve of Vale, with an area of approximately 22,711 ha. Since Brazil is inserted in the international project for the preservation of tropical forests, the area of the Reserve had its importance for conservation increased, due to the fact of taking part in one of the ten priority corridors for Ecological conservation of the Atlantic Forest in Espírito Santo, a state that has all the its territory contained in the Central Corridor of the Atlantic Forest, that is one of the six major Biodiversity Corridors prioritized by Brazil to conserve its tropical forests. At the bioclimatic point of view, the existence of a biologically dry season and partial deciduousness, concentrated in dry periods, allows its classification its as a seasonanl semi-deciduous forest. Within the scope of Tabuleiro forests, the Reserve is the most concrete possibility to understand floristic connections between forests of southern Bahia and northern Espírito Santo that are on Barreiras formations and allows further the understanding of the great floristic affinity of these forests with Amazon, dating back to the period of Late Pleistocene, about 900,000 years. The Reserve preserve remaining populations of important animals for conservation, as the jaguar and the harpy eagle and, therfore, the Reserve reiterates its importance for the preservation process of tropical forests not only in Espírito Santo, but also for Brazil and the entire World.