The Amazon is formed by the association of several ecosystems. Its importance is recognized worldwide for its extension, biodiversity and abundance of biological, water and mineral resources.
In 2000, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – UNESCO declared the conservation areas of the Amazon as a natural heritage of humanity.
The Amazon stands out for being: the region with the greatest biodiversity on the planet; home to large mineral reserves and own a third of the world's tropical rainforest reserves.
They are part of this biome:
- Amazon rainforest: largest rainforest in the world;
- Amazon Basin: largest river basin in the world;
- Amazon river: longest river in the world;
- Peak of fog: highest point in Brazil.
Amazon Extension
Biome is a set of interconnected animal and plant life, which has its own diversity and is characterized by dominant vegetation.
Of the six large biomes existing in Brazil, the Amazon is the largest Brazilian biome, covering 49% of the country, ie a third of the territory.
The extension of the Amazon biome is 7,413,827 km2 in between eight South American countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname, in addition to the territory of French Guiana. There are 33 million inhabitants in the region, with 1.6 million indigenous people from 370 ethnic groups.
In all, nine Brazilian states are part of the Amazon biome. They are: the entire extension of Amazonas, Roraima, Acre and Amapá; almost the entire length of Pará and Rondônia; part of Mato Grosso, Maranhão and Tocantins.
The main data on the Amazon biome in Brazil are:
- The area of the Amazon biome corresponds to 419,694,300 hectares;
- The estimated vegetation cover is 334,611,999 hectares;
- Conservation Units for preservation total 120,275,000 hectares.
Learn more aboutAmazon Biome.
Amazon Features
Climate
Due to the proximity of the equator, the biome's climate is equatorial, characterized as hot and humid, with high average annual temperatures, with little variation, and plenty of rain for periods of up to 6 months.
- Average temperature: between 24 and 26 °C;
- Humidity: around 80%;
- Rainfall index: between 1 000 and 3 000 mm per year.
Learn more aboutequatorial climate.
Relief
Most of the relief has an altitude between 100 and 200 meters above sea level. An exception is Pico da Neblina, with 3014 meters of altitude, considered the highest point in Brazil.
The relief can be divided as follows:
- Flood plain: periodically flooded region;
- Amazon Plateau: region with a maximum height of 200 meters;
- Crystalline shields: region with height above 200 meters.
Learn more aboutPeak of fog.
Hydrography
The Amazon has the largest hydrographic basin in the world, the Amazon basin, with 6,100,000 km2 and over a thousand tributaries. The region holds about 20% of the world's freshwater reserves.
The Amazon, Araguaia, Nhamundá, Negro, Solimões, Tocantins, Trombetas, Xingu, Purus, Juruá, Japurá, Madeira, Tapajós and Branco rivers are part of the Amazon hydrography.
The Amazon River, with 6,992.06 km, is considered the largest river in the world in terms of water volume and extension. It drains 175 million liters of water per second into the Atlantic Ocean.
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Vegetation
The Amazon biome, which holds the largest tropical rainforest in the world, is largely formed by dense rainforest and open rainforest.
The vegetation can be divided into three large groups:
- Flooded Forest: characteristic of low altitudes, where floods are periodic.
- Igapó forest: characteristic of flooded regions, where flooding is permanent.
- Firm terra firme forest: characteristic of high altitudes, it represents most of the Amazon forest.
Examples of native species of the Amazonian flora are: rubber tree, cupuaçu, tucumã, Brazil nut tree and kapok tree (the "Amazonian giant", which can reach 60 m in height).
know more abouttropical forest.
Fauna
The Amazon fauna is very diverse, accounting for about 20% of the planet's animal diversity, with species unique to the area and many at risk of extinction.
are examples of Amazon animals: jaguar, one of the biggest cats in the world, anaconda, one of the biggest snakes in the world, pirarucu, one of the biggest world freshwater fish, and golden lion tamarin, a symbol of Brazil and which today is among the endangered species of extinction.
Learn more aboutendangered animals from the Amazon.
Amazon rainforest
The extension of the Amazon forest is divided as follows: 60% in Brazil, 13% in Peru and still stretches distributed between Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
Among the ecosystems that are part of the Amazon forest, the following stand out: terra firme forest, floodplain forest, igapó forest, flooded forests, open fields and savannas.
The Amazon Forest is self-sustainable, that is, there is a permanent cycle of nutrients that maintain the system.
In the Amazon forest are found about 2500 species of trees. Of the 100,000 known plant species in South America, 30,000 are found in the Amazon rainforest.
Learn more aboutAmazon rainforest.
Importance of the Amazon Forest to the World
The Amazon forest is responsible for achieving an environmental balance. It acts, for example, in the climate control of South America, being responsible for the humidity and influence on the rainfall regime.
It is also responsible for recycling 8% of the carbon present in the Earth's atmosphere, through photosynthesis carried out by plants that capture CO2.
Its biodiversity is important due to the rich variety of raw materials, whether food, medicinal, energy and minerals.
Learn more aboutcarbon cycle.
Amazon deforestation: causes, evolution and monitoring
Deforestation in the Amazon is a cause of global concern due to the importance of the ecosystem.
Most of the human impact on the Amazon rainforest is related to deforestation. Natural areas gave way to roads, hydroelectric power plants, urbanization and activities such as agriculture, livestock and mining.
From the period between Colonial Brazil and the 70s, only 1% of the Amazon forest was deforested. From then on, it is estimated that 20,000 km annually2 of native vegetation is extinguished mainly by logging and fires.
The Ministry of the Environment (MMA) and the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) are responsible for monitoring deforestation in the Amazon region.
The Prodes (Project for Monitoring Deforestation in the Legal Amazon) monitors the annual rates of deforestation and Deter (Real Time Deforestation Detection System) monitors with utilization of satellites.
know more about O Deforestation in the Amazon.
Difference between Legal Amazon and International Amazon
The International Amazon corresponds to an extension of about 7 million km2 between 8 countries in South America: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname, in addition to the overseas territory of French Guiana.
The Legal Amazon, created in 1953, is delimited for political and economic purposes. It is the Brazilian Amazon, which has an area of about 5,034,740 km2 between 8 Brazilian states (Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins) and a part of the state of Maranhão.
The Northern Region of Brazil is where most of the Brazilian Amazon is located.
Read too: What is a biome?
