New map details Brazil’s six major continental biomes

The study was published by Brazil’s statistics agency IBGE

Published on 30/10/2019 - 17:37 By Vitor Abdala - Rio de Janeiro

Brazilian government’s statistics institute IBGE on Wednesday (Oct 30) published a map detailing representations of Brazil’s six continental biomes: the Amazon, the Cerrado, the Atlantic Forest, the Caatinga, the Pampas, and the Pantanal.

This is the first study that shows the extension of Brazil’s coast and territorial waters, on a representation scale of 1:250,000, which is 20 times larger than the previous map.

The map is said to come as a result of enhanced probes, bibliographical revision, and field word, which have brought the survey of physical environments and the original vegetation up to date. This improvement is believed to contribute to the sustainable management of natural resources.

Distribution

The study shows that the Amazon biome occupies 49.5 percent of the Brazilian territory. Next come the Cerrado (23.3%), the Atlantic Forest (13%), the Caatinga (10.1%), the Pampas (2.3%), and the Pantanal (1.8%).

The Cerrado is the only biome that reaches all five Brazilian regions, despite being mostly concentrated in the Central-West. The Amazon occupies 93.2 percent of the North. In addition to the seven states of the North, the biome stretches over to Mato Grosso and Maranhão.

The Atlantic Forest is the biome found in the largest number of Brazilian states—15 in all. The pampas, on the other hand, can only be seen in Rio Grande do Sul.

Diversity

The states with the biggest biome diversity are Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Bahia, and Minas Gerais, each with three. Mato Grosso has the Amazon, the Cerrado, and the Pantanal. Mato Grosso do Sul, in turn, boast the Pantanal, the Cerrado, and the Atlantic Forest. In Minas e Bahia, there are areas with the Cerrado, the Atlantic Forest, and the Caatinga.

The publication refers to Brazil’s so-called coast-maritime system as having 93.73 percent of sea and 6.27 percent of continent, the latter taking up 1.7 percent of the country’s continental territory.

The map and the figures can be seen on IBGE’s website.

Translation: Fabrício Ferreira -  Edition: Fernando Fraga / Augusto Queiroz

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