Cantidiano Valqueiro Barros Private Natural Heritage Reserve
The Cantidiano Valqueiro Barros Private Natural Heritage Reserve () is a private natural heritage reserve in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. It protects an area of dry "caatinga" vegetation. Location. The Cantidiano Valqueiro Barros Private Natural Heritage Reserve is in the municipality of Floresta, Pernambuco. It has an area of , part of the Fazenda Taboleiro Comprido. History. The owner of the Tabuleiro Comprido farm, Natanael Valgueiro Barros, was opposed to hunting and deforestation. He raised cattle, sheep and goats on the land, which also supports a flock of emus, now much reduced in size  by hunters. The National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) declared that the farm was unproductive, and threatened to expropriate and develop it. The environmental group SOS Caatinga and others helped with a campaign against INCRA's proposal, calling it an environmental disaster to clear the well-preserved "caatinga". They gained the support of the federal representative of the RPPN program in Pernambuco. The Cantidiano Valqueiro Barros Private Natural Heritage Reserve was recognized by Romulus Melo, president of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), by ordnance 177 on 31 December 2002. The ordnance was published  on 3 January 2003. The RPPN is the second in the Pernambuco "caatinga", the first being the Maurício Dantas RPPN. It became part of the Caatinga Ecological Corridor, created in 2006. Environment. The Köppen climate classification is Bs s'h', with a long dry season from April to October and a short rainy season from November to March. Average daily temperature is . Average annual rainfall is . The reserve protects an area of "caatinga" vegetation, most of it found in depressions between the plateau areas. Plants species include "Amburana cearensis", "Anadenanthera colubrina", "Aspidosperma pyrifoliam", "Cnidoscolus quercifolius" and various species of Croton, Mimosa  and Cactus. Harris's hawk ("Parabuteo unicinctus") and white-cheeked pintail ("Anas bahamensis") were reported in the reserve in 2005.