Brazil has approximately 496 million hectares of forest area, representing 58.3% of its territory and making it the second largest forest area in the world, behind only Russia.
| Forest type | Total area (ha) | Area relative to total forest area (%) | Area relative to Brazilian territory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural forests | 486,362,710 | 98.1 | 57.1 |
| Planted forests | 9,472,157 | 1.9 | 1.1 |
| Total | 495,834,867 | 100.0 | 58.3 |
Source: forest database of the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB, 2024a) including the area of planted forests from the Survey of Forestry Activities (PEVS/IBGE, 2024a).
1 Natural forests include areas under regeneration, defined as Secondary Vegetation, which correspond to 16,459,774 ha of the total. Excluding areas of Secondary Vegetation, there is a total of 469,902,936 ha of natural forest.
2 Official Brazilian territory: 851,041,777 ha (IBGE, 2023).
1The map shows the remaining natural forest polygons in 2022. It also includes the Secondary Vegetation polygons corresponding to the years 2014 for the Amazon and 2020 for the Cerrado (in the area estimate, these data are projected for 2022).
The country's forest cover is mostly derived from natural forests that dominate most of the area of the Brazilian states. States such as Amazonas, Acre, Amapá, Roraima, Pará, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará and Rondônia had more than 50% of their areas covered by natural forests in 2022. On the other hand, Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul, Federal District, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Sergipe and Alagoas had less than 25% of their territories covered by types of natural forests. Planted forests occupied less than 1% of the area of most Brazilian states, exceeding 5% only in Paraná and Santa Catarina.
Source: forest database of the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB, 2024a) including the area of planted forests from the Survey of Forestry Activities (PEVS/IBGE, 2024a).
Natural forests in biomes
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| Biome | Natural forest | Total area (ha) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area (ha) | Coverage (%) | ||
| Amazon | 328,069,406 | 77.9 | 421,274,200 |
| Caatinga | 43,368,931 | 50.3 | 86,281,800 |
| Cerrado | 76,583,248 | 38.6 | 198,301,700 |
| Atlantic Forest | 29,621,390 | 26.7 | 110,741,900 |
| Pampa | 3,265,763 | 16.8 | 19,383,600 |
| Pantanal | 5,453,972 | 36.1 | 15,098,800 |
| Total | 486,362,710 | 57.1 | 851,082,000 |
Source: forest database of the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB, 2024a).
1 Natural forests of the Amazon and Cerrado include regenerating areas defined as Secondary Vegetation that correspond to 10,601,066 ha and 5,858,708 ha, respectively.
2 The total area corresponds to the sum of the official area of the Brazilian biomes launched in 2019 (IBGE, 2019).
Amazon
The Amazon biome covers about 4.2 million km², corresponding to approximately half of the national territory and about 5% of the earth's surface. It is estimated to be the largest reserve of biological diversity on the planet, potentially home to 10% of all known species in the world. This richness is the result of complex interactions between geological, climatic, hydrological and evolutionary factors. The predominant vegetation is dense rainforest, but other plant formations such as open rainforest and semi-deciduous and deciduous seasonal forests are well represented in the biome. In addition to its biodiversity, the biome plays a key role in the hydrological cycle and global carbon stocks, and is home to diverse indigenous populations. Despite this, the Amazon is threatened by deforestation, mining and forest fires, which accelerate the degradation of the biome and the conversion of forests to anthropized environments.
Caatinga
The Caatinga is an exclusively Brazilian biome with unique characteristics. The biome occupies about 862,000 km², representing approximately 10% of the national territory and extending over much of the Northeast and northern region of Minas Gerais. Characterized by savannah-type vegetation and occurring under semi-arid conditions (annual rainfall varies between 300 and 800 mm), the Caatinga is dominated by cactaceous species and by low trees and shrubs that lose their leaves during the dry season. Despite this, the biome is highly diverse, presenting a variety of unique landscapes such as temporary lakes, wetlands, mountain refuges and permanent rivers, such as the São Francisco River, which together are home to more than 4,000 species of plants. However, this biome faces severe environmental challenges, including desertification and accelerated degradation due to agricultural expansion, grazing, and the unsustainable use of natural resources.
Cerrado
The Cerrado is the second largest Brazilian biome, with an area of approximately 2 million km², covering about 24% of the territory. Considered one of the most biodiverse savannas in the world, the Cerrado is home to more than 12,000 plant species, more than 4,000 of which are endemic. It is characterized by grassland, savanna and forest vegetation that together form a gradient of tree cover and a mosaic of phytophysiognomies. The Cerrado is fundamental in maintaining Brazil's water resources, being the source of the main hydrographic basins, such as the Tocantins, São Francisco and Paraná rivers. However, the biome faces intense pressure due to extensive agriculture and land-use conversion, having lost about 50% of its original vegetation. Its degradation threatens the availability of water on a national scale and contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.
Atlantic Forest
The Atlantic Forest biome and its associated ecosystems originally covered an area of around 1.1 million km² (13% of Brazil's territory), but today only around 296,000 km² remain, distributed in highly isolated fragments. Still, the biome remains one of the most biodiverse regions in Brazil, home to about 20,000 plant species, of which more than 8,000 are endemic and largely endangered. This biome includes several associated ecosystems, such as rainforests (dense, mixed and open), semideciduous and deciduous seasonal forests, as well as mangroves, restingas and altitude fields. The conservation of the Atlantic Forest is crucial to mitigate the effects of climate change, as its forests sequester large amounts of carbon. However, the pressure of deforestation persists, and it is the biome that has suffered the most losses in recent centuries.
Pampa
The Pampa biome, also known as Campos Sulinos, covers approximately 194,000 km², corresponding to about 2% of the Brazilian territory and concentrated in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The biome is characterized by non-forest areas interspersed with mesophilic forests, subtropical forests (especially araucaria forest) and seasonal forests, creating a mosaic of plant typologies. The biome is under intense pressure due to agricultural expansion, especially the introduction of monocultures such as soybeans, corn and eucalyptus, in addition to extensive livestock farming.
Pantanal
The Pantanal biome, with more than 150,000 km² and located in the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, is the largest floodplain in the world and contains an important wealth of terrestrial and aquatic biological diversity. With an average altitude of approximately 150 meters and flat terrain, the Pantanal changes dramatically with the seasons: during the rainy season, large flooded areas form, which drain during the dry season and resemble the grasslands and savannas of the Cerrado. Thus, vegetation is a mosaic of low forests, savannas, and floodplains. About 80% of its areas are flooded during the rainy season, forming a complex network of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems that are home to a wide variety of species. The expansion of extensive livestock farming, uncontrolled burning and deforestation are the main causes of degradation in the biome.
Planted Brazilian Forests
Learn moreWHAT ARE PLANTED FORESTS?
Planted forests are forest formations established by human action through forestry activities, aiming at applications such as the production of wood, coal, resins and environmental protection.
The Survey of Forestry Activities (PEVS), developed by IBGE (IBGE, 2024a), investigates the main forest species planted for exploration and surveys the area of these forests.
| Planting | Area (ha) | Area relative to total planted forest area (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Eucalyptus | 7,317,653 | 77.3 |
| Pinus | 1,773,002 | 18.7 |
| Others | 382 | 4.0 |
| Total | 9,472,157 | 100.0 |
Source: Survey of Forestry Activities (PEVS/IBGE, 2024a).
Source: Survey of Forestry Activities (PEVS/IBGE, 2024a).
Minas Gerais is the state with the largest area of planted forest (22% of the total) in 2022, almost entirely formed by eucalyptus forests (97%). The six states with the largest area of planted forest represent 80% of the total planted forests in Brazil.
| State | Area (ha) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eucalyptus | Pinus | Other species | Total | |
| Midwest | 1,453,431 | 11.458 | 73.438 | 1,538,327 |
| Federal District | 1.455 | 400 | 185 | 2,040 |
| Goiás | 114,300 | 5,700 | 2.661 | 122.661 |
| Mato Grosso | 156.14 | - | 70.592 | 226.732 |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 1,181,536 | 5.358 | - | 1,186,894 |
| Northeast | 876.053 | 20 | 9.501 | 885.574 |
| Alagoas | 24.277 | 20 | 3.278 | 27.575 |
| Bahia | 564.456 | - | 3 | 564.459 |
| Ceará | 1.687 | - | 1.384 | 3.071 |
| Maranhão | 252.105 | - | 6 | 252.111 |
| Paraíba | 1.033 | - | 1.652 | 2.685 |
| Pernambuco | 1.142 | - | 3.162 | 4.304 |
| Piauí | 25.182 | - | - | 25.182 |
| Rio Grande do Norte | - | - | - | - |
| Sergipe | 6.171 | - | 16 | 6.187 |
| North | 296.404 | 115 | 97.954 | 394,473 |
| Acre | - | - | - | - |
| Amapá | 57,020 | 40 | 1.478 | 58.538 |
| Amazonas | - | - | - | - |
| Pará | 133.874 | - | 65.586 | 199,460 |
| Rondônia | - | - | - | - |
| Roraima | - | - | 21.528 | 21.528 |
| Tocantins | 105,510 | 75 | 9.362 | 114.947 |
| Southeast | 3,328,108 | 281,023 | 13,019 | 3,622,150 |
| Espírito Santo | 268.824 | 2.281 | 714 | 271.819 |
| Minas Gerais | 2,034,966 | 47.271 | 7.732 | 2,089,969 |
| Rio de Janeiro | 29.482 | 18 | 191 | 29.691 |
| São Paulo | 994.836 | 231.453 | 4.382 | 1,230,671 |
| South | 1,363,657 | 1,480,386 | 187,590 | 3,031,633 |
| Paraná | 451.014 | 621.772 | 21,840 | 1,094,626 |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 613.001 | 269.507 | 114.191 | 996.699 |
| Santa Catarina | 299.642 | 589.107 | 51.559 | 940.308 |
| Total | 7,317,653 | 1,773,002 | 381.502 | 9,472,157 |
Source: Survey of Forestry Activities (PEVS/IBGE, 2024a).
The Southeast and South regions are close in planted forest area, differing in the most representative type of planting. Eucalyptus is the predominant crop in the Southeast region, while Pinus is the most expressive crop in the South region.
Source: Survey of Forestry Activities (PEVS/IBGE, 2024a).