Photo of the Month (April 2025 Edition): Cradle of Waters

The Brazilian Cerrado is now widely known as the “Cradle of Waters” of South America. The most common reason for this nickname is the fact that eight of the continent’s twelve major river basins have their sources within the geographical boundaries of the Cerrado.

But the Cerrado’s true importance to the hydrological cycle goes far beyond that. Its typical vegetation is highly diverse and includes three main biomes: grasslands, savannas, and forests. Especially the savannas—its most characteristic vegetation—have extremely deep roots. So deep, in fact, that for years Brazilian savannas have been called “inverted forests,” since most of their biomass is underground. These roots draw water from deep within the soil and return it to the atmosphere in the form of vapor, which then condenses and forms rain.

Under pressure from all sides by export-driven agribusiness, what remains in the southern portion of the Cerrado is a mosaic of small vegetation fragments separated by degraded pastures or monocultures drenched in pesticides. Even so, its biota continues to resist cattle, soy, sugarcane, eucalyptus, and pine.

Its waters supply a large portion of Brazil’s urban population, and yet, despite being so threatened, its conservation is still rarely discussed. In the past two years, deforestation rates in the Cerrado have been higher than in the Amazon, with no signs of improvement in the short term. The Cerrado should not be preserved only for the water it provides, but also for the intrinsic, non-monetary value of all the unique and rare forms of life that have adapted to its ecosystems over thousands or even millions of years.