Borders Caatinga and Cerrado Conservation status Vulnerable Area 115,440 km² Bird species 311 | Country Brazil Habitat loss 70% Biome Atlantic Forest Mammal species 147 | |
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States Bahia, Minas Gerais and Piauí | ||
The Atlantic dry forests are a tropical dry forest ecoregion of the Atlantic Forest Biome, located in eastern Brazil.
Contents
Setting
The Atlantic dry forests cover an area of 115,100 square kilometers (44,400 sq mi), lying between the Cerrado savannas of central Brazil and the Caatinga dry shrublands of northeastern Brazil. The Atlantic dry forests stretch from northern Minas Gerais state across western Bahia state into central Piauí. The Atlantic dry forests generally lie along the upper São Francisco River of Minas Gerais and Bahia, and in the basin of the Gurguéia River in Piauí. A large enclave of Atlantic dry forest lies on the Chapada Diamantina of east-central Bahia.
Flora
The Atlantic dry forests are dense, with deciduous and semi-deciduous trees reaching up to 25 to 30 meters in height. The Barriguda Tree, Cavanillesia arborea, is a dry forest tree species distinguished by its huge, bottle-shaped trunk which reaches up to 1.5 meters in diameter.