The Atlantic Rainforest

There is a definition of the Atlantic rainforest as ― "the first name given by the Portuguese to the extensive green wall that was the sea of the Interior lands was the Atlantic rainforest. Today, this is its generic name as popularly is known a wide variety of tropical moist rainforests that occur in a azonal way in the coastal regions of Brazil, accompanying the distribution of moisture brought to the southeast trade winds.

The Atlantic Rainforest biome counts with the presence of 20,000 species of vascular plants.  This high biodiversity is the function of the environmental variations of the biome. One of the most important factors contributing to this variation is its latitude extension, which covers 23. The coast and part of the countryside are observed, a series of variations in the landscape – the forest ombrophilous dense, the stationary semideciduous forest or the ombrophilous mixed – which allows the transit of animals, the gene flow of vegetable species and the existence of tension areas Ecological, where ecosystems meet and transform. Altitudinal variations constitute another important factor contributing to the occurrence of high biological diversity, since the forests extend from sea level at an altitude of 1,800 meters. Moreover, the interior forests differ from the coastal forests, providing a wider variety of habitats and niches. These factors together result in a unique diversity of landscapes, which shelter extraordinary biodiversity.

 

The Atlantic Forest is the second largest tropical rainforest of the American continent, which originally extended itself along the Brazilian coast, penetrating to the east of Paraguay and northeastern Argentina in its southern portion. In the past, it covers more than 1.5 million km2 – with 92% of this area in Brazil.

The Atlantic Rainforest is one of the 25 worldwide biodiversity hotspots. Although it has been largely destroyed, it still houses more than 8,000 endemic species of vascular plants, anfí-bios, reptiles, birds and mammals.

The forest has already lost more than 93% of its area and less than 100,000 km2 of vegetation remains. Some areas of endemism, such as Pernambuco, now possess less than 5% of its original forest.

The immediate causes of habitat loss, forest resources by human populations (Madeira, fruits, firewood, hunting) and the exploitation of the Land for human use (pastures, agriculture and forestry).