The Atlantic Rainforest
The Atlantic Rainforest, or Mata Atlântica, is the 3rd largest Brazilian biome, stretching for about 4,000 km along the Atlantic coast between Rio Grande do Norte to Rio Grande do Sul. It is considered one of the top 5 biodiversity hotspots on Earth, that is, the richest and most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life on Earth. (The image below on the right shows all hotspots in red. Learn more about them from the Biodiversity Hotspots page by Conservation International.)
As we can see from the image on the left, the rainforest has these layers called strata that vary not only in the types of plants you find there, but also in temperature, amount of light and other factors. This adds to the diversity of niches available in the Atlantic Rainforest. Because the Atlantic forest stretches from northeastern to southern Brazil, and from the coast, across the mountains, all the way to eastern Paraguay and Argentina, it displays a wide range of biotic and abiotic factors, being home to an immense variety of plants, animals and other organisms. As amazing as it might sound, the Atlantic forest is quite different from its famous neighbor, the Amazon Rainforest, being significantly richer in biodiversity. Holding more than 20,000 plant species, of which 40% are only found there, the Atlantic Forest has been under the watch of those worried about the high rates of extinction of species. Extinction is a natural process, but it is being aggravated by the increased expansion of cities like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, as well as by other issues related to human intervention. Today, less than 10% of the original forest remains.
Bibliography:
http://www.iracambi.com/english/atlantic_rainforest.shtml
http://www.conservation.org/How/Pages/Hotspots.aspx
Bibliography:
http://www.iracambi.com/english/atlantic_rainforest.shtml
http://www.conservation.org/How/Pages/Hotspots.aspx