Vegetation of São Paulo State, Brazil: From Rainforest to Cerrado

São Paulo state (Southeast Brazil) spans a steep ecological gradient from the Atlantic coast to the interior plateau, hosting six major biomes:

• Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica): Coastal & Serra do Mar slopes. Hyper-diverse, endemic-rich tropical rainforest. Critically endangered (~12% remains). Home to muriqui, jaguar, harpy eagle.
• Cerrado: Central/western plateau. Tropical savanna: twisted trees, thick bark, deep roots, grassy understory. High endemism. Brazil's agricultural heartland (soy, corn, cattle). ~50% converted.
• Seasonal Semideciduous Forest: Transition zone (interior valleys). Trees lose leaves in dry season (Apr–Sep). Heavily fragmented for agriculture.
• Araucaria Forest (Mixed Ombrophilous): Southern highlands (>800m). Dominated by Araucaria angustifolia (Paraná pine). Cool, wet. Mostly logged.
• Restinga: Coastal sand dunes. Salt-tolerant shrubs, bromeliads, cacti. Fragile, threatened by real estate.
• Mangroves: Estuaries (Santos, Cananéia). Rhizophora, Avicennia, Laguncularia. Nursery for fisheries, carbon sinks, storm buffers.

Campos de Altitude (high-altitude grasslands) occur on isolated peaks. São Paulo's biodiversity is globally significant but severely fragmented by urbanization and agribusiness.