The Marajó várzea is a tidal floodplain ecoregion at the mouth of the Amazon River, centered on Marajó Island and the surrounding channel islands and mainland of the Brazilian states of Pará and Amapá, extending into a small area of French Guiana. Its flooded várzea forest is dominated by palms and is shorter and less diverse than surrounding forests, with characteristic stands of açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea) and buriti palm (Mauritia flexuosa) alongside timber trees such as kapok (Ceiba pentandra), Virola surinamensis, and Ficus species. The climate is equatorial with monsoon rainfall, averaging around 28 degrees Celsius, and ocean tides push river water onto the poorly drained clay soils, flooding the land twice daily. The Caribbean manatee is the flagship species, yet the ecoregion has no protected areas and is threatened by cattle and water buffalo ranching, commercial logging, and açaí plantations replacing native buriti. For gardeners, the native açaí and buriti palms are notable ornamental and economically useful species adapted to wet, frequently flooded ground.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 1.0°S, 50.2°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.3°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Realm
Neotropic
Approximate area
34,249 sq mi
Conservation tier
Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 1)
About the tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome
Warm, wet, highly productive forests — including tropical rainforests — with closed canopies, near year-round growing seasons, and the richest terrestrial biodiversity on Earth. Low seasonality and high rainfall sustain dense, layered vegetation from canopy to forest floor.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
No catalog plants intersect this ecoregion's zone range. As the catalog grows to cover this region's climate band, suggestions will surface here.
Collections for this ecoregion
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregions to explore: