Uruguayan Savanna

"The Uruguayan Savanna ecoregion extends from the extreme southern part of the Rio Grande do Sul, a Brazilian state, to include the entire country of Uruguay, and a small section of the Argentinean province of Entre Ríos. These savannas encompass a mosaic of gallery forests, palm savannas, and out cropping of submontane forests . . . The savannas are critically endangered with only a few small isolated patches of intact habitat remaining. The whole ecoregion has been severely altered by cattle ranching, which is one of the main pillars of the national economy in Uruguay . . . Continuous excessive grazing by livestock and the conversion of natural habitats for agriculture threaten the few remaining isolated patches of grasslands and forests. About 80% of Uruguayan territory is used for cattle ranching on natural and artificial savannas. Historically the palm savannas extended much further throughout the ecoregion but livestock grazing, especially on young palm, has significantly reduced their coverage. Habitat destruction and modification, and introduction of alien species to the ecoregion have caused local extinctions of collared peccary, giant anteater, tamandua, jaguar, and jaguarundi. Soil erosion from agriculture activities is one of the major threats. The western portion of the ecoregion is threatened by logging."