The Purus-Madeira moist forests (NT0157) is an

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 l ...

in the central

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

. It is part of the

Amazon biome The Amazon biome ( pt, Bioma Amazônia) contains the Amazon rainforest, an area of tropical rainforest, and other ecoregions that cover most of the Amazon basin and some adjacent areas to the north and east. The biome contains blackwater and white ...

. The ecoregion covers a stretch of flat and relatively infertile land between the Purus and

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

rivers, extending to the

Solimões River Solimões () is the name often given to upper stretches of the Amazon River in Brazil from its confluence with the Rio Negro upstream to the border of Peru. Geography The Amazon / Solimões river just above the confluence of the Solimões and ...

(upper Amazon) in the north. It is isolated from other regions by the seasonally flooded

várzea forest A várzea forest is a seasonal floodplain forest inundated by whitewater rivers that occurs in the Amazon biome. Until the late 1970s, the definition was less clear and várzea was often used for all periodically flooded Amazonian forests. Althoug ...

along these rivers, and has a high degree of

endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

among its flora and fauna. The natural environment is relatively intact. The

BR-319 BR-319 is an federal highway that links Manaus, Amazonas to Porto Velho, Rondônia. The highway runs through a pristine part of the Amazon rainforest. It was opened by the military government in 1973 but soon deteriorated, and by 1988 was impassi ...

highway was built along the length of the ecoregion in the early 1970s, but rapidly deteriorated and is now closed.

Location

The Purus-Madeira moist forests ecoregion lies to the east of the Carauari arch, an ancient uplift zone in Brazil. The ecoregion stretches from southwest to northeast between the

Purus River The Purus River (Portuguese: ''Rio Purus''; Spanish: ''Río Purús'') is a tributary of the Amazon River in South America. Its drainage basin is , and the mean annual discharge is . The river shares its name with the Alto Purús National Park and ...

to the west and the

Madeira River The Madeira River ( pt, Rio Madeira, link=no ) is a major waterway in South America. It is estimated to be in length, while the Madeira-Mamoré is estimated near or in length depending on the measuring party and their methods. The Madeira is ...

to the east, both tributaries of the

(upper Amazon). In the south it is crossed by the

Igapó-Açu River Igapó-Açu River ( pt, Rio Igapó-Açu is a river of Amazonas state in north-western Brazil. It is a left tributary of the Madeira River The Madeira River ( pt, Rio Madeira, link=no ) is a major waterway in South America. It is estimated to ...

, Ipixuna River,

Itaparaná River The Itaparaná River is a river of Amazonas state in north-western Brazil. It is a tributary of the Ipixuna River. The river flows through the Purus-Madeira moist forests ecoregion in its upper reaches. It flows through the Purus várzea The ...

, Mucuim River, and

Jari River The Jari River, or Jary River ( pt, Rio Jari), is a northern tributary of the Amazon River on the border between the states of Pará and Amapá in northeastern Brazil. It is in the most downstream regions of the Amazon Basin and borders the Gui ...

. The large rivers that separate the ecoregion from surrounding regions prevent many species from migrating from or to other regions, making a distinctive environment with various endemic species. The Purus-Madeira moist forests are bounded by the

Purus várzea The Purus várzea (NT0156) is an ecoregion of seasonally flooded várzea forest in the central Amazon basin. It is part of the Amazon biome. The ecoregion is home to a vegetation adapted to floods of up to that may last for eight months. There ...

ecoregion along the Purus and the

Monte Alegre várzea The Monte Alegre várzea (NT0141) is an ecoregion of seasonally flooded várzea forest along the Amazon River in the Amazon biome. Location The várzea forests of this ecoregion extend along the low, seasonally flooded rivers of the central and ...

along the Solimões and Madeira. The Madeira-Tapajós moist forests lie on the east shore of the Madeira. To the south there are stretches of

Iquitos várzea The Iquitos várzea (NT0128) is an ecoregion of flooded forest along rivers in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia in the west of the Amazon biome. The forest is seasonally flooded up to by whitewater rivers carrying nutrient-rich sediment from the Andes. ...

in the

Southwest Amazon moist forests The Southwest Amazon moist forests (NT0166) is an ecoregion located in the Upper Amazon basin. The forest is characterized by a relatively flat landscape with alluvial plains dissected by undulating hills or high terraces. The biota of the so ...

Physical

The ecoregion covers an almost entirely flat area of in the lower Amazon basin. The plain holds large meandering rivers that have formed many

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are call ...

s, and a great many small streams, all subject to annual flooding. Elevations range from . It is within the low Amazon Basin, an area of soft sediments that emerged from five to two million years ago. Soils are acidic and low in nutrients, mostly sandy

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 hum ...

s or hydromorphic

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

soils.

Ecology

The ecoregion is in the

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

and the

tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...

biome.

Climate

The

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

is "Am": equatorial, monsoonal. Average temperatures range from with a mean of . Temperatures are fairly constant throughout the year. Average annual precipitation is . Precipitation is lowest in July with an average of and highest in March with an average of .

Flora

Most of the vegetation is seasonally flooded tropical lowland rainforest. The flora have high

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

and

. In the north the forest is dense with a canopy of and emergent trees of up to . There is a dense understory. In the south the canopy is more open and the understory less dense. In the extreme south the moist forest meets patches of wooded savanna. As with other forests of the Amazon basin the main families are

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

Sapotaceae 240px, '' Madhuca longifolia'' var. ''latifolia'' in Narsapur, Medak district, India The Sapotaceae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants belonging to the order (biology), order Ericales. The family includes about 800 species of ev ...

Lecythidaceae The Lecythidaceae comprise a family (biology), family of about 20 genera and 250–300 species of woody plants native to tropical South America, Africa (including Madagascar), Asia and Australia. The most important member of the family in wor ...

Moraceae The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however ...

Chrysobalanaceae Chrysobalanaceae is a family of flowering plants, consisting of trees and shrubs in 27 genera and about 700 species of pantropical distribution with a centre of diversity in the Amazon. Some of the species contain silica in their bodies for rigi ...

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ). They are dicotyledons, and occur ma ...

and

Myristicaceae The Myristicaceae are a family of flowering plants native to Africa, Asia, Pacific islands, and the Americas and has been recognized by most taxonomists. It is sometimes called the "nutmeg family", after its most famous member, ''Myristica fragra ...

. The most common species are '' Eschweilera alba'', '' Eschweilera odora'', '' Pouteria guianensis'', '' Vantanea guianensis'', '' Ragala sanguinolenta'', '' Licania apetala'' and '' Iryanthera ulei''. Four common species of palm are ''

Astrocaryum vulgare ''Astrocaryum vulgare'' is a very spiny palm native to the Guianas and the Amazon. It is species which has greatly benefited from deforestation, as it cannot grow in undisturbed rainforest. In Brazil it is considered typical of Pará state in the ...

'', ''

Oenocarpus bataua ''Oenocarpus bataua'', the patawa, sehe, hungurahua (Ecuador) or mingucha, is a palm tree native to the Amazon rainforest. The tree produces edible fruits rich in high-quality oil.Vallejo Rendón, Darío 2002. "Oenocarpus bataua, seje"; ''Colombi ...

'', ''

Attalea maripa ''Attalea maripa'', commonly called maripa palm is a palm native to tropical South America and Trinidad and Tobago. It grows up tall and can have leaves or fronds long. This plant has a yellow edible fruit which is oblong ovoid and cream. An e ...

'', and ''

Socratea exorrhiza ''Socratea exorrhiza'', the walking palm or cashapona, is a palm native to rainforests in tropical Central and South America. It can grow to 25 metres in height, with a stem diameter of up to 16 cm, but is more typically 15–20 m tall ...

''. The palm-like '' Spathelia excelsa'' fruits once and then dies. ''

Couma utilis ''Couma utilis'', called the milk tree, sorvinha, sorveira, sorva (a name it shares with its larger relative ''Couma macrocarpa''), and sorva-pequena, is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Rauvolfioideae, native to the Orinoco and Amaz ...

'' provides edible fruit. The '' Physocalymma scaberrim'' is a typical emergent with red hardwood timber used in furniture.

Fauna

There is diverse fauna with many endemic species. 165 species of mammals have been recorded, of which over 80 are bats. Primates include the

bare-eared squirrel monkey The bare-eared squirrel monkey (''Saimiri ustus'') is a squirrel monkey endemic to Brazil and possibly eastern Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow ...

(''Saimiri ustus''),

white-fronted capuchin White-fronted capuchin can refer to any of a number of species of gracile capuchin monkey which used to be considered as the single species ''Cebus albifrons''. White-fronted capuchins are found in seven different countries in South America: Bol ...

(''Cebus albifrons''),

brown woolly monkey The common woolly monkey, brown woolly monkey, or Humboldt's woolly monkey (''Lagothrix lagothricha'') is a woolly monkey from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, and Venezuela. It lives in groups of two to 70 individuals, usually splitting ...

(''Lagothrix lagotricha''), and five species of

titi The titis, or titi monkeys, are New World monkeys of the subfamily Callicebinae, which contains three extant genera: ''Cheracebus'', ''Callicebus'', and ''Plecturocebus.'' This subfamily also contains the extinct genera ''Miocallicebus, Homuncul ...

monkey (Callicebus genus), of which

Hershkovitz's titi Hershkovitz's titi monkey (''Plecturocebus dubius'') is a species of titi monkey, a type of New World monkey, from South America. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru. The common name is in reference to American zoologist Philip Hershkovitz, ...

(''Callicebus dubius''),

ashy black titi The ashy black titi monkey (''Plecturocebus cinerascens'') is a species of titi monkey, a type of New World monkey, endemic to Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest count ...

(''Callicebus cinerascens''), and

collared titi The collared titi monkey (''Cheracebus torquatus'') is a species of titi, a type of New World monkey. It is endemic to northern Brazil. Taxonomy At the end of the 1980s the genus ''Callicebus'' was revised from the Hershkovitz concept of three ...

(''Callicebus torquatus'') are endemic. Other mammals include

Hoffmann's two-toed sloth Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (''Choloepus hoffmanni''), also known as the northern two-toed sloth is a species of sloth from Central and South America. It is a solitary, largely nocturnal and arboreal animal, found in mature and secondary rainf ...

(''Choloepus hoffmanni''),

brown-throated sloth The brown-throated sloth (''Bradypus variegatus'') is a species of three-toed sloth found in the Neotropical realm of Central and South America. It is the most common of the four species of three-toed sloth, and is found in the forests of South ...

(''Bradypus variegatus''),

silky anteater The silky anteater, also known as the pygmy anteater, has traditionally been considered a single species of anteater, ''Cyclopes didactylus'', in the genus ''Cyclopes'', the only living genus in the family Cyclopedidae. Found in southern Mexico, ...

(''Cyclopes didactylus''),

southern tamandua The southern tamandua (''Tamandua tetradactyla''), also called the collared anteater or lesser anteater, is a species of anteater from South America and the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. It is a solitary animal found in many habitats, from ...

(''Tamandua tetradactyla''),

giant anteater The giant anteater (''Myrmecophaga tridactyla'') is an insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteaters, of which it is the largest member. The only extant member of the genus ''Myrmecopha ...

(''Myrmecophaga tridactyla''),

collared peccary The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus ''Dicotyles''. They are commonly referred to as ' ...

(''Pecari tajacu''),

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

(''Panthera onca''),

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

(''Puma concolor''),

red brocket The red brocket (''Mazama americana'') is a species of brocket deer from forests in South America, ranging from northern Argentina to Colombia and the Guianas. It also occurs on the Caribbean island of Trinidad (it also occurred on the island of ...

(''Mazama americana''),

gray brocket The gray brocket (''Mazama gouazoubira''), also known as the brown brocket, is a species of brocket deer from northern Argentina, Bolivia, southern Peru, eastern and southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It formerly included the Amazonian br ...

(''Mazama gouazoubira''), and

South American tapir The South American tapir (''Tapirus terrestris''), also commonly called the Brazilian tapir (from the Tupi ''tapi'ira''), the Amazonian tapir, the maned tapir, the lowland tapir, the ''anta'' (Portuguese), and ''la sachavaca'' (literally "bushcow ...

(''Tapirus terrestris''). Endangered mammals include

Peruvian spider monkey The Peruvian spider monkey (''Ateles chamek''), also known as the black-faced black spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey that lives in Peru, as well as in Brazil and in Bolivia. At long, they are relatively large among species of monkey, ...

(''Ateles chamek''),

white-cheeked spider monkey The white-cheeked spider monkey (''Ateles marginatus'') is a species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, endemic to Brazil. It moves around the forest canopy in small family groups of two to four, part of larger groups of a few dozen an ...

(''Ateles marginatus'') and

giant otter The giant otter or giant river otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the weasel family, Mustelidae, a globally successful group of predators, reaching up to . Atypical of musteli ...

(''Pteronura brasiliensis''). Green iguana (''Iguana iguana'') and tegus lizards (genus ''

Tupinambis ''Tupinambis'' is a lizard genus which belongs to the family Teiidae and contains eight described species. These large lizards are commonly referred to as tegus (''teiús'' in Portuguese). '' T. merianae'' (Argentine black and white tegu), '' T ...

'') are common. Snakes include fer-de-lance (''

Bothrops asper Terciopelo (''Bothrops asper'') is a species of pit vipers occurring at low to moderate elevations in northeast Mexico and Central America, and into South America where it is known from elevations up to 2600 meters in the Colombian and Ecuador ...

''), palm pit-vipers (genus ''

Bothriechis ''Bothriechis'' is a genus of venomous pit vipers, commonly called palm vipersMehrtens JM. 1987. ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . or palm-pitvipersCampbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. ''The Venomous Rept ...

''), coral snakes (genus ''

Micrurus ''Micrurus'' is a genus of venomous coral snakes of the family Elapidae. Geographic range Species in the genus ''Micrurus'' are endemic to the Americas. Species The following 83 species are recognized as being valid. *''Micrurus albicinctus'' ...

''), bushmasters (''

Lachesis muta ''Lachesis muta'', also known as the Southern American bushmaster or Atlantic bushmaster, is a venomous pit viper species found in South America, as well as the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. Two subspecies are currently recognized, includi ...

'') and boa constrictors (''

Boa constrictor The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also called the red-tailed boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the family B ...

''). 572 species of birds have been recorded including migrant toucan (genus ''

Ramphastos ''Ramphastos'' is a genus of toucans, tropical and subtropical near passerine birds from Mexico, and Central and South America (with one species occurring in the Caribbean), which are brightly marked and have enormous, often colourful, bills.Shor ...

''),

Amazon parrot Amazon parrots are parrots in the genus ''Amazona''. They are medium-sized, short-tailed parrots native to the Americas, with their range extending from South America to Mexico and the Caribbean. ''Amazona'' is one of the 92 genera of parrots t ...

(genus ''

Amazona Amazon parrots are parrots in the genus ''Amazona''. They are medium-sized, short-tailed parrots native to the Americas, with their range extending from South America to Mexico and the Caribbean. ''Amazona'' is one of the 92 genera of parrots t ...

''), and macaw (genus ''

Ara ARA may refer to: Media and the arts * American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences * '' Artistička Radna Akcija'', compilation album released in former Yugoslavia * Associate of the Royal Academy, denoting membership in the British Royal Aca ...

''). Resident birds included tanagers (genera '' Tangara'' and '' Tachyphonus''), woodcreepers (genus ''

Xiphorhynchus ''Xiphorhynchus'' is a genus of bird in the woodcreeper subfamily (Dendrocolaptinae). Species It contains the following 14 species: The straight-billed woodcreeper and Zimmer's woodcreeper are now separated in ''Dendroplex''. References Exte ...

''),

resplendent quetzal The resplendent quetzal (''Pharomachrus mocinno'') is a small bird found in southern Mexico and Central America, with two recognized subspecies, ''P. m. mocinno'' and ''P. m. costaricensis''. These animals live in tropical forests, particularly ...

(''Pharomachrus mocinno''), 15 species of curassows (genera '' Crax'', '' Nothocrax'', '' Mitu'' and ''

Pauxi The genus ''Pauxi'' consists of the three species of helmeted curassows, terrestrial black fowl with ornamental casque on their heads. All are found in South America. This genus contains 3 species As indicated by analysis of mt and nDNA seque ...

''), and tinamous (genera ''

Crypturellus ''Crypturellus'' is a genus of tinamous containing mostly forest species. However, there are the odd few that are grassland or steppe tinamous. The genus contains 21 species. Taxonomy The genus ''Crypturellus'' was introduced in 1914 by the Brit ...

'' and ''

Tinamus ''Tinamus'' is a genus of birds in the tinamou family Tinamidae . This genus comprises some of the larger members of this South American family. Taxonomy The genus ''Tinamus'' was introduced in 1783 by the French naturalist Johann Hermann. The ...

''). Endangered birds include

wattled curassow The wattled curassow (''Crax globulosa'') is a threatened member of the family Cracidae, the curassows, guans, and chachalacas. It is found in remote rainforests in the western Amazon basin in South America. Males have black plumage, except ...

(''Crax globulosa'') and

red-necked aracari The red-necked aracari or red-necked araçari (''Pteroglossus bitorquatus'') is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found in Bolivia and Brazil. Taxonomy and systematics The International Ornithological Committee (I ...

(''Pteroglossus bitorquatus'').

Status

The

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

classes the ecoregion as "Relatively Stable/Intact". Most of the environment is undamaged, apart from the south. A paved road (

) was built along the length of the region from

Humaitá Humaitá is a town and ''distrito'' on the Paraguay River in southern Paraguay. During the Paraguayan War, it served as the main Paraguayan stronghold from 1866 until its fall in August 1868. During that time, it housed as many as 24,000 troops. ...

Manaus Manaus () is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2020 population of 2,219,580 distributed over a land area of about . Located at the east center of the s ...

, but it proved impossible to maintain and was closed. The

Trans-Amazonian Highway The Trans-Amazonian Highway (official designation BR-230, official name Rodovia Transamazônica), was introduced on September 27, 1972. It is 4,000 km long, making it the third longest highway in Brazil. It runs through the Amazon forest and ...

crosses the southwestern end of the region from

Lábrea Lábrea () is the southernmost municipality in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Economy The population of the Lábrea municipality was 46,882 as of 2020. Its area is . This makes it the sixth largest municipality in Amazonas by area and the ten ...

and has caused deforestation to create pasturage and agricultural fields. The southern area is threatened by controlled and uncontrolled fires. Mining in the upper sections of the Purus and Madeira rivers causes pollution and habitat destruction. During the period from 2004 to 2011 the ecoregion experienced an annual rate of habitat loss of 0.32%. Global warming will force tropical species to migrate uphill to find areas with suitable temperature and rainfall. Low, flat ecoregions such as the Purus-Madeira moist forests are extremely vulnerable.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Purus-Madeira moist forests Ecoregions of Brazil Amazon biome Neotropical tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests