The Atlantic Forest, Brazil

A forest full of wonder. The Atlantic Forest, Brazil

The Atlantic Forest is one of the world's great biodiversity hotspots, stretching along much of Brazil's Atlantic coast and into Argentina and Paraguay. Its landscape includes tropical and subtropical forests, mangroves and coastal habitats, providing a home for around 20,000 plant species and an extraordinary variety of wildlife, including jaguars and golden lion tamarins. Much of the forest has disappeared over the centuries, but it continues to play an important role in storing carbon and providing fresh water for millions of people across the region.

A serpentine river carves through the dense canopy, tracing a vital corridor across an ecosystem reduced to roughly 12 percent of its original extent. These riparian strips connect isolated forest islands, allowing animals like the endangered southern muriqui to move between reserves without crossing open pasture. Because most of the biome's tree species rely on wildlife for seed dispersal, these protected waterways quietly regenerate the landscape from the inside out.