Definition and characteristics
   Scrubland is a vegetal formation characteristic from Brazilian Northeast which covers more than 70% of its area. It is also called backlands, or semi-arid. There are big desertification processes.
    Total Area: 1.100.000 km2
    Human interference area: 800.000 km2.
    In the winter, scrubland vegetation become dried up, because plants lose their leaves for eliminating the evaporation surface when water is absent. Some plants store water as the cactus barrigudos.
    The small number of rivers and lakes in the scrubland region are temporary, being dry in almost all the year.

    Biodiversity
    Because of the conditions of this ecosystem, biodiversity is not too big, if in comparison to another ones.

    Flora: some principal vegetal species are:
        Schinopsis brasiliensis; 
        Copernicia prunifera; 
        Tabebuia caraiba; 
        Zizyphus joazeiro; 
        Hancornia speciosa; 
        Auxemma oncocalyx;
        Spondiar tuberosa.
 
    Fauna: it is composed mainly by mammal Dasyprocae azarae,  Didelphus sp. There is in this ecosystem a primate:  Calithrix jacchus, and Manzana sp.

    Legal protection
        There is not specific legal protection, being applied the Brazilian Forestall Code and the Environmental Crimes Law (9.605/98).