Table 1.
Comparison of iron based ecosystems in Brasil (canga) and Australia (bounded iron formations).
| Canga in IQ | Canga in Carajas | BIFs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Minais Gerais (MG), Brazil | Para, Brazil (Nunes, 2009) | South-Western Australia |
| Longitude | 19.30, 20.31 S (Jacobi et al., 2007) | 5.35, 5.57 S (Nunes, 2009) | 25.30, 30.00 S (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Latidude | 43.00-44.30 W (Jacobi et al., 2007) | 50.01, 51.04 W (Nunes, 2009) | 116.00, 122.15 E (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Approximate area | 100km2 (Jacobi et al., 2007) | 90 km2 (Nunes, 2009) | – |
| Spread across area/range | Area of 7200km2 (Jacobi et al., 2007) | Area of 4000 km2 (Nunes, 2009) | Across 700 km (Gibson et al., 2012 ) |
| Altidue | 900–2000 m (Jacobi et al., 2007) | Max 620–660 m | Max 700 m (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Climate | Tropical sub-humid (Jacobi et al., 2007) | Tropical humid (Nunes, 2009) | Arid (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Minimum temperature | 13–19∘C | 19∘C (Nunes, 2009) | 3.8–7.5∘C (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Maximum temperature | 24–28∘C | 31∘C (Nunes, 2009) | 34-39∘C (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Mean precipitation | 1500–1900 mm (Jacobi et al., 2007) | 1900 mm (Nunes, 2009) | 186–329 mm (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Rain seasonality | Yes (Jacobi et al., 2007) | Yes (Nunes, 2009) | Yes (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Soil characteristics* | Messias et al. (2013) | Nunes (2009) | Markey and Dillon (2010) |
| pH | 4.7–5.15 (Messias et al., 2013) | 3.76–4.37 (Nunes, 2009) | 4.22–5.97 (Markey and Dillon, 2010) |
| Mn (mg/kg) | 10 times higher (Messias et al., 2013) | Two times higher (Nunes, 2009) | 4–20 times higher (Markey and Dillon, 2010) |
| Fe (mg/kg) | 20–40 times higher (Messias et al., 2013) | 20–50 times higher (Nunes, 2009) | 2–6 times higher (Markey and Dillon, 2010) |
| P(mg/kg) | 10–20 times lower (Messias et al., 2013) | 5–20 times lower (Nunes, 2009) | 10 times lower (Markey and Dillon, 2010) |
| Surrounding ecosystem | Atlantic rain-forest, Cerrado, rock outcrops (Jacobi et al., 2007) | Amazonian rain-forest (Nunes, 2009) | Arid and Transition Rainfall Zones (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Plant Biodiversity*** | Jacobi et al. (2007), Viana and Lombardi (2007), Pifano et al. (2010) | Nunes (2009) | Gibson et al. (2012) |
| Number of plant species | 353 (Jacobi and Carmo, 2011) | 125 (Nunes, 2009) | 906 (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Dominant genus 1 | Asteraceae (Jacobi and Carmo, 2011) | Fabaceae (Nunes, 2009) | Fabaceae (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Dominant genus 2 | Poaceae (Jacobi and Carmo, 2011) | Euphorbiaceae (Nunes, 2009) | Myrtaceae (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Dominant genus 3 | Orchidaceae (Jacobi and Carmo, 2011) | Myrtraceae (Nunes, 2009) | Poaceae (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Dominant life form 1 | Herbs (Jacobi and Carmo, 2011) | Shrubs (Nunes, 2009) | Shrubs (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Dominant life form 2 | Shrubs (Jacobi and Carmo, 2011) | Herbs (Nunes, 2009) | Herbs (Gibson et al., 2012) |
| Presence of endemics | Yes (Jacobi et al., 2007) | Yes (Nunes, 2009) | Yes (Gibson et al., 2012) |
*Aproximate diffrences in element composition when compared to standard soil (Reganold et al., 2010). **Dominance calculated based on number of species.