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 The Atlantic Forest is located mostly in the mountainous areas of the Atlantic coast of Brazil.
This ecosystem has suffered from human occupation since the arrival of European immigrants in 1500. The largest preserved areas are in the Serra do Mar and in the Mantiqueira Mountain, mainly due to their uneven topography that makes human occupation difficult.
The Brazilian government has now set up protection programs in order to save the remaining forest.
The Atlantic forest has characteristics of tropical forests. 50% of its vegetation are endemic and located nowhere else (reaching 53.5% for arboreous species, 64% for the palm tree and 74.4% for the bromeliads). The Atlantic forest possesses one of the greatest bio-diversity on the planet, with larger flora diversity than the Amazon.
This diversity is mainly due to the variety of climate and to a topography that facilitates rain.
The canopy is between 35 and 60 meters high. It forms an impenetrable barrier to the sun, giving litle light to shrubbery and small trees; bamboo, giants ferns, líchen, forming the sub-woods.
Medicinal Patrimony - The Atlantic Forest is a shelter for a large variety of medicinal plants, many of which have still not been properly studied.
Even limited and fragmented the Atlantic Forest represents a protected area for various populations. The ecosystem supplies quality water for 70% (more of 100 millions) of Brazilians who live in its domain.
In Porto Seguro region the canopy reaches from 15 to 40 meters high and the shrubbery is dense.
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