The Tapajós-Xingu moist forests stretch across central-eastern Brazil in the eastern Amazon basin, covering the interfluvial lowland plain between the Tapajós and Xingu rivers, two major southern tributaries of the Amazon, on the deeply weathered ancient Brazilian Shield. The ecoregion is dominated by evergreen tropical rainforest on terra firme, with liana forests rich in the Bignoniaceae family on the southern uplands and seasonally flooded blackwater igapó forest along the rivers; characteristic trees include Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa), bigleaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), bagassa, and pink trumpet. Its climate is equatorial and monsoonal (Köppen Am), with annual rainfall of roughly 1,500 to 2,000 millimeters falling across much of the year and mean temperatures near 27 degrees Celsius. The forests shelter around 161 mammal species and 556 bird species and are flagshipped by the hyacinth macaw, the world's largest parrot by length, while the Tapajós River itself acts as a natural barrier separating closely related animal populations. The World Wildlife Fund rates the region as Vulnerable, as the Transamazon Highway has accelerated logging, cattle ranching, and mining; gardeners may recognize the native flowering pink trumpet tree and mahogany as ornamental and timber genera from this landscape.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 5.9°S, 54.4°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: +4.2°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
129,989 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: