Coastal lowland

Along South America's coastline the land is either occupied by people and more or less urbanisized or, because of the vertile and rich soils, used for cultivatring crops like palmoil, bananas, sugarcane, rice, vegetables and fruits. Sometimes the coast however is, as a result of insufficient watermanagment or inaccesability not suitable for urbanisation and often inundated by waters from the rainfall or the tidal incoming seawater.


Coastal inland

The coastal inland is characterized by low scrubs and grass vegetation and often by sandy soil conditions. It is open and sunny with low trees and bushes that are used by people to make charcoal out of it. This is mainly the case where the level rises some 0 to 50 meters above sea level.


Secondary forest



Primary forest

The primary forest is built up out of high trees with dense canope and its soil is mostly not rich of nutrients. Trees can be as high as 40 meters and only small amount of light can enter the forestfloor. In the hilly areas rivers, small rivulets and creeks supply the drainage of the tropical rains that almost every day early mornings between 5 am and 9 am occurs. Most animal life can be found in the canope where birds feed and apes seek their food as well.



In the South america's we do not think of very dry area's as the continent is known for its huge rainfall and tropical forests. This is however a misunderstanding. On different lacations savannah- or desert like environments exsists do to high land on rocky bottom, areas were wind is blowing freely and only grasses can survive and even these grasses are in some occasions absent.



Wordwide, all kind of people and scientists recognize the importance of the mangrove's, not only as known breeding ground for a lot of marine aquatic life but also for its capabilty to protect the shores and the land behind. Its exsistance has a huge impact on the entire marine ecosystem and forming of new land.