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The Atlantic Forest ((ポルトガル語:Mata Atlântica)) is a terrestrial biome and region which extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the north to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south, and inland as far as Paraguay and the Misiones Province of Argentina, where the region is known as Selva Misionera. The Atlantic Forest has ecoregions within the following biome categories: Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, and Mangrove forests. The Atlantic Forest is characterized by a high species diversity and endemism.〔Dafonseca, G. 1985. The Vanishing Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Biological Conservation 34:17-34.〕 It was the first environment that the Portuguese colonizers encountered over 500 years ago, when it was thought to have had an area of , and stretching an unknown distance inland.〔Por, Francis Dov. 1992. Sooretama: the Atlantic rain forest of Brazil. The Hague: SPB Academic Pub.〕 Over 85% of the original area has been deforested, threatening many plants and animals with extinction〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/southamerica/brazil/placesweprotect/atlantic-forest.xml )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/atlantic_forests/ )〕 Currently, the Atlantic Forest spans over along the coast of Brazil and in a small part of Paraguay and Argentina.〔Thomas, William Wayt, and Elizabeth G. Britton. 2008. The Atlantic coastal forest of Northeastern Brazil. Bronx, N.Y.: The New York Botanical Garden Press.〕〔 ==Ecology== The Atlantic Forest region includes forests of several variations: * Restinga is a forest type that grows on stabilized coastal dunes. Restinga Forests are generally closed canopy short forests with tree density. Open Restinga is an open, savanna-like formation with scattered clumps of small trees and shrubs and an extensive layer of herbs, grasses, and sedges.〔 * Tropical moist forests are forests that receive more than 2000 mm of rain a year. This includes Lowland Tropical Moist Forests, Submontane Tropical Moist Forest, and Montane Tropical Moist Forest.〔 * Tabuleiro forests are found over very moist clay soils and Tabuleiro Savannas occur over faster-draining sand soils.〔 These are humid areas that rely on water vapor from the ocean.〔Galindo Leal, Carlos, and Ibsen de Gusmão Câmara. 2003. The Atlantic Forest of South America: biodiversity status, threats, and outlook. Washington: Island Press.〕 * Further inland are the Atlantic dry forests or seasonal forests, which form a transition between the arid Caatinga to the northeast and the Cerrado savannas to the east. These forests are lower in stature; more open, with high abundance of deciduous trees and lower diversity when compared to tropical moist forests. These forests have between 700–1600 mm of precipitation annually with a distinct dry season. This includes Deciduous and Semideciduous Seasonal Forest each with their own lowland and montane regions.〔〔 * Montane moist forests are higher altitude wet forests across mountains and plateaus of southern Brazil. * Shrubby montane savannas occur at the highest elevations, also called Campo rupestre. The Atlantic Forest is unusual in that it extends as a true tropical rainforest to latitudes as high as 24°S. This is because the trade winds produce precipitation throughout the southern winter. In fact, the northern Zona da Mata of northeastern Brazil receives much more rainfall between May and August than during the southern summer. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Atlantic Forest」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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