Atlantic Forest Region

Endemic Animal and Plant Species

Wooly Spider Monkey

- largest primate in the Americas as well as one of the most endangered in the world (of all monkeys)

Socio-economic Conditions

Brazil Wood Tree

-The forest is also subjected to impacts from climate change, which will be set to increase in the future. Sea level rise, temperature increases, increased hazards etc can have negative impacts on the area. Salinity changes also impact the mangroves.

-All of the cities within the Atlantic Forest provide around 80% of Brazil's gross national product, giving it significant economic importance.

-7 out of Brazil's 10 most populous cities rely on the Atlantic Forest for its water supplies and electricity generation.

-The Pact for the Atlantic Forest Restoration aims to restore more than 37 million acres of forest by 2050, showing its importance.

-This plant has a dense, orange-red heartwood that takes a high shine, and it is the premier wood used for making bows for stringed instruments

What makes the area a hotspot?

-Atlantic Forest is home to one of the most diverse species range in the world

-Compared to somewhere like Alaska, we can see why this is true due to its extensive range of climates (because of a variety of latitudal and altitudal ranges) which can support a wider variety of populations

-The forest is also isolated from the Amazon and Andean forests by a large river, giving it many endemic species such as the woolly spider monkey.

-Atlantic Forest is home to one of the most diverse species range in the world

Compared to somewhere like Alaska, we can see why this is true due to its extensive range of climates (because of a variety of latitudal and altitudal ranges) which can support a wider variety of populations

-The forest is also isolated from the Amazon and Andean forests by a large river, giving it many endemic species such as the woolly spider monkey.

Interesting Facts

-Today more than 85% of this forest has been cleared and what remains is highly fragmented

-The forest has an area of 1,300,000 km2 meaning it releases huge amounts of oxygen. It also sequestrates significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

-Famous cities within the area include Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo

Geography

Protection of Forest

-The Nature Conservancy has plan to protect and restore 30 million acres of the forest by 2015

-Rebuilding the Atlantic Forest means stitching together a mosaic of land in various stages of development and in different uses. The concept that underlies this effort is the development of “forest corridors”.

-To develop viable Atlantic Forest corridors, the needs of people living in the region cannot be ignored. Development of economic alternatives that are compatible with forest protection is imperative

-located in Southeastern coast of South America

-In counties Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay

-476,000 sq. miles

Ecosystem

-Moist tropical forest

-Forest has around 2,200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians

(5% of the vertebrates on Earth)

-This includes nearly 200 bird species found no where else, and 60% of all of Brazil’s threatened animal species call this forest home

-Brazil as a whole is the world’s leader in primate diversity, with 77 species and subspecies identified to date. Of these, 26 are found in the Atlantic forest, of which 21 are found nowhere else in the world

Sources

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/southamerica/brazil/placesweprotect/atlantic-forest.xml

http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/150633/

http://www.switcheroozoo.com/profiles/woollyspidermonkey.htm

Atlantic Forest Region