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Consisting of various types of vegetation, the Amazon biome has 3.68 million square kilometers

Edited and resized image by Flaviz Guerra, is available on Wikipedia and licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

The Amazon biome consists of several types of vegetation, including terra firme forest, igapó forest, tropical rainforest, Rio Negro caatingas, sandy savanna and rupestrian fields. It has 3.68 million km2 and is located in the largest hydrographic basin in the world, the Amazon River, which drains approximately 25% of the surface of South America.

what is a biome

A biome, from the Greek “bio” (life) and “oma” (group or mass), is a uniform area of ​​geographic space, small or larger up to 1 million km², identified and classified according to the macroclimate, the phytophysiognomy (the first impression caused by vegetation), the soil, the altitude and its main elements, such as the occurrence of natural fire.

The concept arose from the observation of the evolution of plants and their various forms of growth, including the vegetation of dense forests, thickets, savannas, fields, steppes, deserts, among others.

Brazil has five biomes: cerrado biome, Atlantic forest biome, pampa biome, caatinga biome, pantanal biome and Amazon biome.

Map: IBGE

Characteristics of the Amazon Biome

Climate

The Amazon biome is located in a very rainy region, with uniform distribution, except for a more rain-poor band in the north. Maximum temperatures are around 37-40 °C, and may vary by 10 °C.

waters

Edited and resized image by Thâmily Vivian Massari, is available on Wikimedia and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

The waters of the Amazon biome vary according to geology and vegetation cover. In the Tapajós River, for example, the waters are crystal clear, while in others, such as the Negro River, they are black. On the other hand, rivers such as the Amazon, or Madeira, have a muddy yellowish, turbid water.

The dark and very acidic waters of the Rio Negro are a consequence of the large amount of organic matter derived from the forest transformed into humus.

soils

Poor clay soil in the central Amazon region. Edited and resized image by James Martins is available on Wikimedia and licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

The soil of the Amazon biome is not very fertile. In the region of Manaus, in terra firme area, there are clayey, yellow, acidic soils, rich in aluminum and poor in nutrients. In the lower parts, there are sandy soils, even poorer in nutrients than the soils of the terra firme forest.

The floodplain soils of white water rivers are the richest in nutrients, as the rivers transport minerals from the rocks of the Andean region. In addition, they are naturally fertilized by floods, making them more arable.

There are also the soils known as “Terra Preta do Índio”, formed by ancient indigenous settlements, rich in organic matter and in phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, zinc and manganese.

Vegetation

Edited and resized image of ediladoler is available on Pixabay

Firm land forests: they are located in high lands, far from the rivers, they are elongated and thin trees, such as Brazil nuts, cocoa and palm trees. They have a large amount of wood species of high economic value.

Floodplain forests: they are in areas periodically flooded by the floods of white water rivers. Examples are rubber and palm trees.

Igapós forests: these are tall trees, adapted to flooded regions. They are located in low areas, close to rivers with clear and black waters, remaining humid for most of the year.

Biodiversity

Edited and resized image by Marcus Dall Col, is available on Unsplash

The continental Amazon is considered the most diverse region on the planet. It is estimated that the Amazon rainforest is home to 50,000 species of plants, 3,000 species of fish and 353 species of mammals, 62 of which are primates.

To give you an idea, there are more plant species in one hectare of Amazonian forest than in the entire European territory.

Bees also have outstanding diversity. Of the more than 80 species of meliponíneas (stingless bees), about 20 are bred in the region.

In the Amazon it is estimated that around 30% of plants depend on bees for pollination, reaching in some cases 95% of tree species.

It is still necessary to consider the diversity of invertebrate groups such as earthworms, which have more than 100 species in the region, being fundamental for the decomposition of organic matter.

Risks to biodiversity in Amazonian forests include deforestation, logging, fires, fragmentation, mining, fauna extinction, invasion of exotic species, wildlife trafficking and climate change.

With the discovery of gold in the region (mainly in the state of Pará), many rivers are being contaminated. The miners use mercury, a substance that is contaminating rivers and fish in the region. Indians who inhabit the Amazon rainforest also suffer from illegal logging and gold in the region. In the case of mercury, it compromises river water and fish that are important for the survival of the tribes. Another problem is biopiracy in the Amazon forests.

Foreign scientists enter the forest, without authorization from Brazilian authorities, to obtain samples of plants or animal species. They take these to their countries, research and develop substances, registering a patent and then profiting from it. The big problem is that Brazil would have to pay, in the future, to use substances whose raw materials originate in our territory.

Environmental services

Environmental services represent a concept that could change the way we relate to the environment, especially a means of influencing decisions about land use in the Amazon. Historically, strategies to sustain the population in the Amazon have included the production of goods and in general the destruction of the forest. However, studies show that the most promising long-term strategy is based on maintaining the forest standing as a source of environmental services, which can generally be grouped into three categories: biodiversity, water cycling and mitigation of the greenhouse effect. .

The Amazon biome is of great importance for the planet's environmental stability. More than a hundred trillion tons of carbon are fixed in its forests. Its vegetal mass releases something around seven trillion tons of water annually into the atmosphere, through evapotranspiration, and its rivers discharge about 20% of all the fresh water that is discharged into the oceans by the existing rivers on the globe. In addition to providing relevant environmental services, these springs have hydroelectric potential of fundamental importance for the country, in addition to vast fisheries resources and potential for aquaculture. In addition to its recognized natural wealth, the Amazon is home to an expressive group of indigenous peoples and traditional populations that include rubber tappers, chestnut trees, riverside dwellers, babassu trees, among others, which make it stand out in terms of cultural diversity.

In the Amazon, it is still possible for the existence of at least 50 indigenous groups that are remote and without regular contact with the outside world. Indigenous peoples have the best experience in maintaining the forest, and dealing with these peoples is essential to ensure the maintenance of the large areas of forest they inhabit.

Finally, the benefits of environmental services provided by the Amazon biome must be enjoyed by the people who live in its forests. Thus, the development of strategies that capture the values ​​of these services will be the long-term challenge for everyone who relates to and cares about this biome.