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Concept
Atlantic Forest
Summary
The Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and the Misiones Province of Argentina, where the region is known as Selva Misionera.
The Atlantic Forest has ecoregions within the following biome categories: seasonal moist and dry broad-leaf tropical forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, and mangrove forests. The Atlantic Forest is characterized by a high biodiversity and endemism.
It was the first environment that the Portuguese colonists encountered over 500 years ago, when it was thought to have had an area of , and stretching an unknown distance inland, making it, back then, the second largest rainforest on the planet, only behind the Amazon rainforest. Over 85% of the original area has been deforested, threatening many plant and animal species with extinction.
The Atlantic Forest region includes forests of several variations:
Restinga is a forest type that grows on stabilized coastal dunes. Restinga forests are generally closed canopy short forests with tree density. Open restinga is an open, savanna-like formation with scattered clumps of small trees and shrubs and an extensive layer of herbs, grasses, and sedges.
Seasonal tropical moist forests may receive more than 2000 mm of rain a year. These include Tropical Moist: Lowland Forests, Submontane Forest, and Montane Forests.
Tabuleiro forests are found over very moist clay soils and Tabuleiro Savannas occur over faster-draining sand soils. These are humid areas that rely on water vapor from the ocean.
Further inland are the Atlantic dry forests, which form a transition between the arid Caatinga to the northeast and the Cerrado savannas to the east. These forests are lower in stature; more open, with high abundance of deciduous trees and lower diversity when compared to tropical moist forests. These forests have between 700–1600 mm of precipitation annually with a distinct dry season.
Official source
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