What is a Rainforest

A forest is a living laboratory where the fauna and flora are under a permanent and formidable test of survival. In fact, it is sustained by a fragile equilibrium of the elements.

The Atlantic Forest of tropical South America boasts 20,000 plant species, 40 percent of which are endemic. The diversity of the flora is such that scientists speak of  "the highest percentages of endemism in the world: over 50% of the tree species and 92% of the amphibians are found nowhere else in the world".

Trees use the Carbon in Carbon Dioxide (CO2 ) to grow and release Oxygen (O2) in the process, thereby reducing the environmental impact of rapidly increasing greenhouse gases (GHG). Although difficult to measure exactly due to the multiple variables at work, there is a unanimous international consensus that trees are beneficial to the recuperation of the Earths sensitive atmosphere.

Yet, less than 10 percent of the forest remains. Beginning with sugarcane plantations and later, coffee plantations, this region has been losing habitat for hundreds of years. Now, with the increased expansion of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, the Atlantic Forest is facing severe pressure from the issues tied to urbanization.

Mori et al. 1981,  Lynch 1979, Northeastern Atlantic Coastal Forest Project Projeto Mata Atlântica Nordeste - Wm. Wayt Thomas and André M. Amorim. http://fcbs.org/articles/Mata_Atlantica.htm