Atlantic moist forests

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The Atlantic moist forests, also known as the Atlantic coastal forests, are tropical moist evergreen forests, part of the Atlantic Forests complex of eastern Brazil. The Atlantic moist forests mostly lie within 80 km of the Atlantic coast. Restingas, coastal forests which grow on stabilized dunes, and mangroves, generally lie immediately along the coast. Inland from the moist forests are the drier Atlantic semi-deciduous forests, whose trees often drop their leaves during the dry season.

The Atlantic moist forests stretch from Pernambuco state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the southeast. The World Wildlife Fund identifies three distinct ecoregions. The Pernambuco coastal forests occupy the coastal plain of Pernambuco and Alagoas states. The Bahia coastal forests occupy coastal Bahia and Espírito Santo states. The Serra do Mar coastal forests extend along coastal Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, and Rio Grande do Sul states.

The Atlantic moist forests have a four-tiered structure.

[edit] External links

• Bahia coastal forests (World Wildlife Fund)
• Pernambuco coastal forests (World Wildlife Fund)
• Serra do Mar coastal forests (World Wildlife Fund)