cerrado

[ suh-rah-doh; Portuguese si-rah-doo ]

noun

, Ecology.

, plural cer·ra·dos [s, uh, -, rah, -dohz, si-, rah, -d, oo, s].

1. a type of plains community characterized by vegetation ranging from tropical broadleaf woodlands to scrublands, occurring in extensive areas of Brazil.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cerrado¹

< Brazilian Portuguese; Portuguese: noun use of cerrado thick, dense, literally, shut, past participle of cerrar to close < Vulgar Latin *serrāre; c in Portuguese, Spanish perhaps by association with cercar to enclose, surround

Example Sentences

In recent weeks, blazes exacerbated by climate change consumed large sections of the Amazon rainforest, Pantanal wetlands and Cerrado savanna, as well as the southern state of São Paulo.

From Salon

In the Cerrado, which is the centre of agricultural production, there was a 6% increase in tree loss.

From BBC

Scientists examined the current range of more than 7,000 plant species in Brazil's Cerrado savanna, and estimated shifts based on warming by 2040.

From Science Daily

The Cerrado is just 0.4% of the planet's land surface, but it is home to 3.5% of all flowering plants -- approximately 12,000 species, a similar diversity level to the Brazilian Amazon rainforest.

From Science Daily

"About half of Cerrado plant species will experience a net range loss due to climate change by 2040," Silva added.

From Science Daily