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62-770: Serra Geral National Park is in the Atlantic Forest biome. It covers 17,302 hectares (42,750 acres). The park was created by decree 531 of 21 May 1992, and is administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation . The park covers parts of the municipalities of Cambará do Sul in Rio Grande do Sul and of Jacinto Machado and Praia Grande in Santa Catarina. It is made up of two separate sections adjacent to Aparados da Serra National Park . The Campos Gerais plateau region has

124-833: A 3.2% rise in global deforestation. Massive wildfires in Canada , exacerbated by climate change , contributed to a 24% increase in global tree cover loss, highlighting the ongoing threats to forests essential for carbon storage and biodiversity . Despite some progress, the overall trends in forest destruction and climate impacts remain off track. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report stated in 2022: “Over 420 million ha of forest were lost to deforestation from 1990 to 2020; more than 90% of that loss took place in tropical areas (high confidence), threatening biodiversity, environmental services, livelihoods of forest communities and resilience to climate shocks (high confidence).” See also: Global deforestation sharply accelerated around 1852. As of 1947,

186-631: A corridor, which will be known as the Central Biodiversity Corridor , in the Atlantic Forest and one in the Amazon. The Brazilian Development Bank has been financing, with non-reimbursable loans, 16 to 18 ecosystem restoration projects totaling 3,500 hectares and costing approximately $ 22 million under the so-called Iniciativa BNDES Mata Atlântica. In order to preserve diversity, the state of São Paulo has created

248-636: A gently undulating topography with heights ranging from 900 to 1,200 metres (3,000 to 3,900 ft) above sea level. The park includes part of the southeast of the plateau and the escarpment between this plateau and the coastal plain. Altitudes range from 100 to 1,112 metres (328 to 3,648 ft) above sea level. Average annual rainfall is 1,800 millimetres (71 in). Temperatures range from 0 to 36 °C (32 to 97 °F), with an average of 18 °C (64 °F). Vegetation includes dry meadows, peat fields, cloud forests, mixed rainforests, dense submontane and montane rainforests, and lowland rainforests. There

310-663: Is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and the Misiones Province of Argentina , where the region is known as Selva Misionera . The Atlantic Forest has ecoregions within the following biome categories: seasonal moist and dry broad-leaf tropical forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands , and mangrove forests . The Atlantic Forest

372-600: Is a wide variety of endemic species of flora. Endemic fauna include Elachistocleis erythrogaster , Melanophryniscus cambaraensis , Thoropa saxatilis , black-and-white monjita ( Xolmis dominicanus ), Xanthopsar flavus , Scytalopus iraiensis , Limnornis rectirostris , and Amazona pretrei . The park is classified as IUCN protected area category II (national park). It has the objectives of preserving natural ecosystems of great ecological relevance and scenic beauty, enabling scientific research, environmental education, outdoor recreation, and eco-tourism. Protected species in

434-435: Is active in reforestation efforts in the northeastern state of Pernambuco , Brazil. During 2007, Joao Milanez and Joanne Stanulonis have planted 5,500 new trees in the mountains commencing with Gravata, adding to the precious little, ancient forest left. The Pact for Atlantic Forest Restoration has assembled over 100 businesses, nongovernmental and governmental organizations around the goal of having 15 million hectares of

496-407: Is agreement that destruction of rainforests remains a significant environmental problem. The rate of net forest loss declined from 7.8 million ha per year in the decade 1990–2000 to 5.2 million ha per year in 2000–2010 and 4.7 million ha per year in 2010–2020. The rate of decline of net forest loss slowed in the most recent decade due to a reduction in the rate of forest expansion. In many parts of

558-636: Is agriculture by far. More than 80% of deforestation was attributed to agriculture in 2018. Forests are being converted to plantations for coffee , palm oil , rubber and various other popular products. Livestock grazing also drives deforestation. Further drivers are the wood industry ( logging ), urbanization and mining . The effects of climate change are another cause via the increased risk of wildfires (see deforestation and climate change ). Deforestation results in habitat destruction which in turn leads to biodiversity loss . Deforestation also leads to extinction of animals and plants, changes to

620-407: Is also important for the agricultural sector. The reason for this linkage is because the effects of climate change on agriculture pose new risks to global food systems . Since 1990, it is estimated that some 420 million hectares of forest have been lost through conversion to other land uses , although the rate of deforestation has decreased over the past three decades. Between 2015 and 2020,

682-758: Is around 38%. Since 1960, roughly 15% of the Amazon has been removed with the intention of replacing the land with agricultural practices. It is no coincidence that Brazil has recently become the world's largest beef exporter at the same time that the Amazon rainforest is being clear cut. Another prevalent method of agricultural deforestation is slash-and-burn agriculture , which was primarily used by subsistence farmers in tropical regions but has now become increasingly less sustainable. The method does not leave land for continuous agricultural production but instead cuts and burns small plots of forest land which are then converted into agricultural zones. The farmers then exploit

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744-477: Is characterized by a high biodiversity and endemism . It was the first environment that the Portuguese colonists encountered over 500 years ago, when it was thought to have had an area of 1,000,000–1,500,000 km (390,000–580,000 sq mi), and stretching an unknown distance inland, making it, back then, the second largest rainforest on the planet, only behind the Amazon rainforest . Over 85% of

806-552: Is not an issue because of longer fallow periods and lesser overall deforestation. The relatively small size of the plots allowed for no net input of CO 2 to be released. Consumption and production of beef is the primary driver of deforestation in the Amazon , with around 80% of all converted land being used to rear cattle. 91% of Amazon land deforested since 1970 has been converted to cattle ranching. Livestock ranching requires large portions of land to raise herds of animals and livestock crops for consumer needs. According to

868-484: Is predicted that many regional, fruit-bearing tree species in the Atlantic forest will become extinct due to failure of seedling recruitment and recolonisation. With all these species already threatened, it is predicted that with the persistence of current deforestation rates the Atlantic forest will see continued extinction of species. Due to the Atlantic Forest's vast diversity of endemic plants and animals as well as

930-453: Is projected to occur by the mid-21st century. In the early 2000s, some scientists predicted that unless significant measures (such as seeking out and protecting old growth forests that have not been disturbed) are taken on a worldwide basis, by 2030 there will only be 10% remaining, with another 10% in a degraded condition . 80% will have been lost, and with them hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable species. Estimates vary widely as to

992-727: Is responsible for 48% of deforestation; commercial agriculture is responsible for 32%; logging is responsible for 14%, and fuel wood removals make up 5%. More than 80% of deforestation was attributed to agriculture in 2018. Forests are being converted to plantations for coffee, tea, palm oil , rice, rubber , and various other popular products. The rising demand for certain products and global trade arrangements causes forest conversions , which ultimately leads to soil erosion . The top soil oftentimes erodes after forests are cleared which leads to sediment increase in rivers and streams. Most deforestation also occurs in tropical regions. The estimated amount of total land mass used by agriculture

1054-399: Is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms , ranches , or urban use. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests at present. This is one-third less than the forest cover before the expansion of agriculture, with half of that loss occurring in

1116-560: The Congolese rainforest increased by 5%. The World Wildlife Fund 's ecoregion project catalogues habitat types throughout the world, including habitat loss such as deforestation, showing for example that even in the rich forests of parts of Canada such as the Mid-Continental Canadian forests of the prairie provinces half of the forest cover has been lost or altered. In 2011, Conservation International listed

1178-719: The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund if they abide by its rules. These include the Species Protection Program, the Program for Supporting Private Natural Heritage Reserves and the Institutional Strengthening Program. Another strategy being implemented to maintain biodiversity within the Atlantic Forest is creating wildlife corridors . The World Bank is donating $ 44 million to create

1240-730: The Philippines , Indonesia , Thailand , Burma , Malaysia , Bangladesh , China, Sri Lanka , Laos , Nigeria , the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Liberia , Guinea , Ghana and the Ivory Coast , have lost large areas of their rainforest. Much of what remains of the world's rainforests is in the Amazon basin , where the Amazon Rainforest covers approximately 4 million square kilometres. Some 80% of

1302-486: The Pleistocene , the Atlantic Forest is known to have shrunk to extremely small fragmented refugia in highly sheltered gullies, being separated by areas of dry forest or semi-deserts known as caatingas. Some maps even suggest the forest actually survived in moist pockets well away from the coastline where its endemic rainforest species mixed with much cooler-climate species. Unlike refugia for equatorial rainforests,

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1364-575: The Restinga de Bertioga State Park , a 9.3 thousand hectares park which also serves as a wildlife corridor linking the coastal regions to the Serra do Mar mountain range. Some organizations, such as the Nature Conservancy , are planning to restore parts of the forest that have been lost and to build corridors that are compatible with the lifestyles of the native people. The Amazon Institute

1426-479: The World Wildlife Fund , "Extensive cattle ranching is the number one culprit of deforestation in virtually every Amazon country, and it accounts for 80% of current deforestation." The cattle industry is responsible for a significant amount of methane emissions since 60% of all mammals on earth are livestock cows. Replacing forest land with pastures creates a loss of forest stock , which leads to

1488-606: The Atlantic Forest. New species are continually being found in the Atlantic Forest. In fact, between 1990 and 2006 over a thousand new flowering plants were discovered. Furthermore, in 1990 researchers re-discovered a small population of the black-faced lion tamarin ( Leontopithecus caissara ), previously thought to have been extinct. In 1991, the butterfly Actinote zikani was rediscovered in southern Brazil, after being declared extinct ten years earlier. In southern Brazil A new species of blonde capuchin ( Cebus queirozi ), named for its distinguishing bright blonde hair,

1550-642: The commodity is consumed. For example, consumption patterns in G7 countries are estimated to cause an average loss of 3.9 trees per person per year. In other words, deforestation can be directly related to imports—for example, coffee. In 2023, the Global Forest Watch reported a 9% decline in tropical primary forest loss compared to the previous year, with significant regional reductions in Brazil and Colombia overshadowed by increases elsewhere, leading to

1612-407: The conversion of forest to other land uses (regardless of whether it is human-induced). Deforestation and forest area net change are not the same: the latter is the sum of all forest losses (deforestation) and all forest gains (forest expansion) in a given period. Net change, therefore, can be positive or negative, depending on whether gains exceed losses, or vice versa. The FAO estimates that

1674-478: The country's western regions at a rate of 15,000 hectares at a randomly studied 2-month period in 2010. In 2009, Paraguay's parliament refused to pass a law that would have stopped cutting of natural forests altogether. As of 2007, less than 50% of Haiti's forests remained . From 2015 to 2019, the rate of deforestation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo doubled. In 2021, deforestation of

1736-780: The decades 1990–2000 and 2000–2010. Some claim that rainforests are being destroyed at an ever-quickening pace. The London-based Rainforest Foundation notes that "the UN figure is based on a definition of forest as being an area with as little as 10% actual tree cover, which would therefore include areas that are actually savanna-like ecosystems and badly damaged forests". Other critics of the FAO data point out that they do not distinguish between forest types, and that they are based largely on reporting from forestry departments of individual countries, which do not take into account unofficial activities like illegal logging. Despite these uncertainties, there

1798-498: The deforestation of the Amazon can be attributed to cattle ranching, as Brazil is the largest exporter of beef in the world. The Amazon region has become one of the largest cattle ranching territories in the world. The regions with the highest tropical deforestation rate between 2000 and 2005 were Central America —which lost 1.3% of its forests each year—and tropical Asia. In Central America , two-thirds of lowland tropical forests have been turned into pasture since 1950 and 40% of all

1860-463: The extent of deforestation in the tropics. In 2019, the world lost nearly 12 million hectares of tree cover. Nearly a third of that loss, 3.8 million hectares, occurred within humid tropical primary forests, areas of mature rainforest that are especially important for biodiversity and carbon storage. This is equivalent to losing an area of primary forest the size of a football pitch every six seconds. A 2002 analysis of satellite imagery suggested that

1922-591: The extent of human disturbances, including habitat destruction , in the Atlantic Forest has led to an extinction crisis. The endemic species in this region are especially vulnerable to extinction due to fragmentation because of their small geographic ranges and low occurrence. In a study of the Atlantic Forest fragments, community level biomass was reduced to 60% in plots less than 25 hectares. Key ecological processes such as seed dispersal , gene flow , colonization and other processes are disturbed by fragmentation. With many key vertebrate seed dispersers going extinct, it

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1984-432: The form of charcoal or timber ), while cleared land is used as pasture for livestock and agricultural crops. The vast majority of agricultural activity resulting in deforestation is subsidized by government tax revenue . Disregard of ascribed value, lax forest management , and deficient environmental laws are some of the factors that lead to large-scale deforestation. The types of drivers vary greatly depending on

2046-658: The fragmentation affecting these species, many groups and organizations are working to restore this unique ecosystem . Non-governmental organizations (NGO) are huge benefactors in Brazil, providing funding as well as professional help to the Atlantic Forest due to the Brazilian Environmental Movement . One organization, called BirdLife International , uses its research to preserve the area's bird biodiversity and teach people about sustainable natural resource use. Some organizations receive grants from

2108-568: The global forest carbon stock has decreased 0.9%, and tree cover 4.2% between 1990 and 2020. As of 2019 there is still disagreement about whether the global forest is shrinking or not: "While above-ground biomass carbon stocks are estimated to be declining in the tropics, they are increasing globally due to increasing stocks in temperate and boreal forest. Deforestation in many countries —both naturally occurring and human-induced —is an ongoing issue. Between 2000 and 2012, 2.3 million square kilometres (890,000 square miles) of forests around

2170-402: The implication of increased greenhouse gas emissions by burning agriculture methodologies and land-use change . A large contributing factor to deforestation is the lumber industry . A total of almost 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) of timber, or about 1.3% of all forest land, is harvested each year. In addition, the increasing demand for low-cost timber products only supports

2232-702: The largest annual rate of net forest loss in 2010–2020, at 3.9 million ha, followed by South America, at 2.6 million ha. The rate of net forest loss has increased in Africa in each of the three decades since 1990. It has declined substantially in South America, however, to about half the rate in 2010–2020 compared with 2000–2010. Asia had the highest net gain of forest area in 2010–2020, followed by Oceania and Europe. Nevertheless, both Europe and Asia recorded substantially lower rates of net gain in 2010–2020 than in 2000–2010. Oceania experienced net losses of forest area in

2294-543: The last century. Between 15 million to 18 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Bangladesh , are destroyed every year. On average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute. Estimates vary widely as to the extent of deforestation in the tropics . In 2019, nearly a third of the overall tree cover loss, or 3.8 million hectares, occurred within humid tropical primary forests . These are areas of mature rainforest that are especially important for biodiversity and carbon storage . The direct cause of most deforestation

2356-483: The local climate, and displacement of indigenous people who live in forests. Deforested regions often also suffer from other environmental problems such as desertification and soil erosion . Another problem is that deforestation reduces the uptake of carbon dioxide ( carbon sequestration ) from the atmosphere. This reduces the potential of forests to assist with climate change mitigation . The role of forests in capturing and storing carbon and mitigating climate change

2418-430: The main driver of deforestation and forest fragmentation and the associated loss of forest biodiversity. Large-scale commercial agriculture (primarily cattle ranching and cultivation of soya bean and oil palm) accounted for 40 percent of tropical deforestation between 2000 and 2010, and local subsistence agriculture for another 33 percent. Trees are cut down for use as building material, timber or sold as fuel (sometimes in

2480-460: The nutrients in the ashes of the burned plants. As well as, intentionally set fires can possibly lead to devastating measures when unintentionally spreading fire to more land, which can result in the destruction of the protective canopy. The repeated cycle of low yields and shortened fallow periods eventually results in less vegetation being able to grow on once burned lands and a decrease in average soil biomass. In small local plots sustainability

2542-566: The original 16 million square kilometres (6 million square miles) of tropical rainforest that formerly covered the Earth. More than 3.6 million hectares of virgin tropical forest was lost in 2018. The global annual net loss of trees is estimated to be approximately 10 billion. According to the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 the global average annual deforested land in the 2015–2020 demi-decade

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2604-500: The original area has been deforested , threatening many plant and animal species with extinction . The Atlantic Forest region includes forests of several variations: The Atlantic Forest is unusual in that it extends as a true tropical rain forest to latitudes as far as 28°S. This is because the trade winds produce precipitation throughout the southern winter. In fact, the northern Zona da Mata of northeastern Brazil receives much more rainfall between May and August than during

2666-724: The original ecosystem restored by 2050. The Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul keeps a private reserve of the Araucaria moist forest ecoregion of approximately 3.100 ha called Pró-Mata , near the city of São Francisco de Paula in the state of Rio Grande do Sul . This reserve is used for research and biodiversity conservation. Terrestrial ecoregions within the Atlantic Forest Biome include: 16°30′S 39°15′W  /  16.500°S 39.250°W  / -16.500; -39.250 Deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance

2728-418: The other hand, a 2005 analysis of satellite images reveals that deforestation of the Amazon rainforest is twice as fast as scientists previously estimated. From 2010 to 2015, worldwide forest area decreased by 3.3 million ha per year, according to FAO . During this five-year period, the biggest forest area loss occurred in the tropics, particularly in South America and Africa. Per capita forest area decline

2790-427: The park include cougar ( Puma concolor ), southern tigrina ( Leopardus guttulus ), margay ( Leopardus wiedii ), vinaceous-breasted amazon ( Amazona vinacea ), red-spectacled amazon ( Amazona pretrei ), Chaco eagle ( Buteogallus coronatus ), the toad Melanophryniscus macrogranulosus , and the fish Mimagoniates rheocharis . Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( Portuguese : Mata Atlântica )

2852-410: The planet had 15 to 16 million km (5.8 to 6.2 million sq mi) of mature tropical forests , but by 2015, it was estimated that about half of these had been destroyed. Total land coverage by tropical rainforests decreased from 14% to 6%. Much of this loss happened between 1960 and 1990, when 20% of all tropical rainforests were destroyed. At this rate, extinction of such forests

2914-439: The rainforests have been lost in the last 40 years. Brazil has lost 90–95% of its Mata Atlântica forest. Deforestation in Brazil increased by 88% for the month of June 2019, as compared with the previous year. However, Brazil still destroyed 1.3 million hectares in 2019. Brazil is one of several countries that have declared their deforestation a national emergency. Paraguay was losing its natural semi-humid forests in

2976-472: The rate of deforestation in the humid tropics (approximately 5.8 million hectares per year) was roughly 23% lower than the most commonly quoted rates. A 2005 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that although the Earth's total forest area continued to decrease at about 13 million hectares per year, the global rate of deforestation had been slowing. On

3038-404: The rate of deforestation was estimated at 10 million hectares per year, down from 16 million hectares per year in the 1990s. The area of primary forest worldwide has decreased by over 80 million hectares since 1990. More than 100 million hectares of forests are adversely affected by forest fires, pests, diseases, invasive species , drought and adverse weather events. Deforestation is defined as

3100-447: The refuges for the Atlantic Forest have never been the product of detailed identification. Despite having only 28% of native vegetation cover remaining, the Atlantic Forest remains extraordinarily lush in biodiversity and endemic species , many of which are threatened with extinction . Approximately 40 percent of its vascular plants and up to 60 percent of its vertebrates are endemic species, meaning they are found nowhere else in

3162-476: The region in which they take place. The regions with the greatest amount of deforestation for livestock and row crop agriculture are Central and South America, while commodity crop deforestation was found mainly in Southeast Asia. The region with the greatest forest loss due to shifting agriculture was sub-Saharan Africa. The overwhelming direct cause of deforestation is agriculture. Subsistence farming

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3224-673: The result of human activity in the past 400 years. Over 11,000 species of plants and animals are considered threatened today in the Atlantic Forest. Over 52% of the tree species and 92% of the amphibians are endemic to this area. The forest harbors around 20,000 species of plants, with almost 450 tree species being found in just one hectare in some locations. The Atlantic Forest is one of the best studied tropical ecosystems. For example, over 3000 tree species, 98 bat species, 94 large or medium-sized mammal species, over 2000 epiphyte species, 26 primate species, 528 amphibian species, 124 small mammal species, and over 800 bird species have been recorded in

3286-522: The size of India—by 2050. 36% of globally planted forest area is in East Asia – around 950,000 square kilometers. From those 87% are in China. Rates of deforestation vary around the world. Up to 90% of West Africa 's coastal rainforests have disappeared since 1900. Madagascar has lost 90% of its eastern rainforests. In South Asia , about 88% of the rainforests have been lost. Mexico , India ,

3348-428: The size of the Atlantic Forest, which has resulted in species impoverishment. Almost 88% of the original forest habitat has been lost and replaced by human-modified landscapes including pastures , croplands , and urban areas . This deforestation continues at an annual rate of 0.5% and up to 2.9% in urban areas. Habitat fragmentation leads to a cascade of alterations of the original forest landscape. For example,

3410-419: The southern summer. The geographic range of Atlantic Forest vary depending on author or institution that published them. Information on four most important boundaries as well as their union and intersection was reviewed in 2018. The Atlantic Forest mainly covers regions of eastern Brazil (92% of the total area), but also reaches eastern Paraguay (6%) and northeastern Argentina (2%). During glacial periods in

3472-467: The top 10 most endangered forests, characterized by having all lost 90% or more of their original habitat , and each harboring at least 1500 endemic plant species (species found nowhere else in the world). As of 2015 , it is estimated that 70% of the world's forests are within one kilometer of a forest edge, where they are most prone to human interference and destruction. Deforestation in particular countries: Agricultural expansion continues to be

3534-473: The world were cut down. Deforestation and forest degradation continue to take place at alarming rates, which contributes significantly to the ongoing loss of biodiversity . Deforestation is more extreme in tropical and subtropical forests in emerging economies. More than half of all plant and land animal species in the world live in tropical forests . As a result of deforestation, only 6.2 million square kilometres (2.4 million square miles) remain of

3596-576: The world, especially in East Asian countries, reforestation and afforestation are increasing the area of forested lands. The amount of forest has increased in 22 of the world's 50 most forested nations. Asia as a whole gained 1 million hectares of forest between 2000 and 2005. Tropical forest in El Salvador expanded more than 20% between 1992 and 2001. Based on these trends, one study projects that global forestation will increase by 10%—an area

3658-443: The world. The official threatened species list of Brazil contains over 140 terrestrial mammal species found in Atlantic Forest. In Paraguay the Atlantic Forest has been heavily impacted in recent years. In Paraguay there are 35 species listed as threatened, and 22 species are listed as threatened in the interior portion of the Atlantic Forest of Argentina. Nearly 250 species of amphibians , birds, and mammals have become extinct due to

3720-456: Was 10 million hectares and the average annual forest area net loss in the 2000–2010 decade was 4.7 million hectares. The world has lost 178 million ha of forest since 1990, which is an area about the size of Libya. An analysis of global deforestation patterns in 2021 showed that patterns of trade, production, and consumption drive deforestation rates in complex ways. While the location of deforestation can be mapped, it does not always match where

3782-461: Was also greatest in the tropics and subtropics but is occurring in every climatic domain (except in the temperate) as populations increase. An estimated 420 million ha of forest has been lost worldwide through deforestation since 1990, but the rate of forest loss has declined substantially. In the most recent five-year period (2015–2020), the annual rate of deforestation was estimated at 10 million ha, down from 12 million ha in 2010–2015. Africa had

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3844-499: Was discovered in northeastern Brazil at the Pernambuco Endemism Center in 2006. A species of endangered three-toed sloth, named the maned sloth ( Bradypus torquatus ) because of its long hair, is endemic to the Atlantic Forest. Hylid tree frog Dendropsophus branneri is also endemic to the Atlantic Forest. The incorporation of modern human societies and their needs for forest resources has greatly reduced

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