31.0% E 
HI 99.3% | a a 
} sf Productive forest 
| my \ \| 4 SOUTH —7 
— f Wooded sovanno 
2 | J 
‘E 59% / WZ 8) Scrub and brush 
\ y =\ y - [5] Prairie | 
} NG = ‘| vy Y, [_jOther 
L =" BRAZIL 
Figure 10.—Proportion of productive forest, wooded savanna, 
scrub and brush, prairie, and other land, by regions, 1958. 
Amazon lowlands.—The Amazon lowlands take in 
40 percent of the country and possess not only forest 
but also swamp, prairie, and savanna. The domi- 
nant feature, however, is the great forest (fig. 11.) 
The trees are broadleaf and evergreen and are found 
in great variety. On an acre of Amazon forest, 
scores of species may occur, but only a few individuals 
of each. Volume per acre of currently marketable 
timber is usually small. Average tree height of the 
larger growing species is probably not over 100 feet, 
though an occasional giant reaches conspicuously 
above the skyline. Some of the species that attain 
the greatest height are Brazil nut (castanheira), 
ceiba. magaranduba, and sapucadia. In addition to 
the paucity of forest giants in large groups and the 
absence of pure stands of any tree species, the 
Amazon forest exhibits other striking characteristics: 
there is no seasonal leaf fall: many species develop 
buttresses which make felling difficult; the stands 
are usually two or three storied; the trees typically 
(Photo courtesy Pan American Union.) 
Figure 11.—Tropical rain forest along a northern tributary of the Amazon River. 
10 FOREST RESOURCE REPORT 16, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
