The Bahia coastal forests are a
tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
of eastern
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, part of the larger
Atlantic Forest region.
Setting
The Bahia coastal forests occupy a belt approximately wide along the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
coast of eastern Brazil, in the states of
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...
and
Espirito Santo
''Espirito'' (Brazilian for "Spirit") is the second album by Lawson Rollins. Rollins composed all of the music and co-produced the album with Persian-American musician and producer Shahin Shahida (of Shahin & Sepehr) and multi-platinum producer Do ...
. The
Itapicuru River
The Itapicuru River is a river in Bahia state of eastern Brazil. The Itapicuru rises in the northern part of the state, and flows east to empty into the Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, w ...
forms the northern boundary of the ecoregion, which extends south to near the
Itapemirim River
The Itapemirim River is a river of Espírito Santo state in eastern Brazil.
See also
*List of rivers of Espírito Santo
List of rivers in Espírito Santo (Brazilian State).
The list is arranged by drainage basin from north to south, with respec ...
. The ecoregion is bounded on the east by the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
and the enclaves of the
Atlantic Coast restingas forests and
Bahia mangroves. To the west, the forests transition to the drier
Bahia interior forests.
The forests cover Tertiary sedimentary plateaus extending from near the seacoast westward to the lower slopes of the
Serra da Mantiqueira
The Mantiqueira Mountains (Portuguese: ''Serra da Mantiqueira iterally: Mantiqueira Mountains Chain') are a mountain range in Southeastern Brazil, with parts in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. It rises abruptly from the ...
. The prevalent soils are tropical nutrient-poor yellow-red
latosol and
podzol
In soil science, podzols are the typical soils of coniferous or boreal forests and also the typical soils of eucalypt forests and heathlands in southern Australia. In Western Europe, podzols develop on heathland, which is often a construct of ...
s.
Climate
The ecoregion has a
tropical climate
Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) or higher in the cool ...
with annual rainfall ranging from 1,200 to 1,800 mm, evenly distributed throughout the year. The southern portion of the ecoregion may experience a dry period from May through September.
Flora
The four-tiered Atlantic evergreen moist forests are the predominant vegetation type.
Fauna
Endangered mammals in the ecoregion include the
maned three-toed sloth
The maned sloth (''Bradypus torquatus'') is a three-toed sloth that is native to South America. It is one of four species of three-toed sloths belonging to the suborder Xenarthra and are placental mammals. They are endemic to the Atlantic coasta ...
(''Bradypus torquatus'') and
golden-headed lion tamarin
The golden-headed lion tamarin (''Leontopithecus chrysomelas''), also the golden-headed tamarin, is a lion tamarin endemic to Brazil. It is found only in the lowland and premontane tropical forest fragments in the state of Bahia, and therefore i ...
(''Leontopithecus chrysomelas'').
Conservation and threats
Less than 5% of the original forest cover remains intact. Protected areas in the ecoregion include
Sooretama Biological Reserve
Sooretama Biological Reserve ( pt, Reserva Biológica de Sooretama is a biological reserve in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil.
History
The area at present occupied by the reserve consists of two areas; one of was formerly the Parque de Re ...
and
Linhares Forest Reserve.
References
*
*
{{Clear
Atlantic Forest
Neotropical tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Ecoregions of Brazil
*
.
Forests of Brazil
Geography of Bahia