The Purus-Madeira moist forests cover a vast, flat lowland plain in the central Brazilian Amazon, hemmed between the Purus and Madeira Rivers. Vegetation is dense evergreen tropical rainforest interspersed with seasonally flooded forest, dominated by legumes (Fabaceae) along with the families Sapotaceae and Lecythidaceae; the canopy reaches around 30 meters with emergent trees up to 45 meters, and characteristic plants include the palm Oenocarpus bataua and the fruit-bearing tree Couma utilis. The climate is hot and humid throughout the year, averaging roughly 26 to 27 degrees Celsius with little monthly variation and about 2,500 millimeters of annual rainfall. Because the wide flanking rivers block species from crossing into neighboring regions, the ecoregion shows high endemism in its flora and fauna, with the bare-eared squirrel monkey (Saimiri ustus) as its flagship species. The WWF classes it as relatively stable and intact, though the Trans-Amazonian Highway has driven deforestation for pasture and cropland at its southwestern edge.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 6.9°S, 63.6°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: +4.4°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
67,203 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: