VEGETATION AND SPECIES COMPOSITION
Mangrove forests in South America are found on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and in the bays and estuaries of eight countries. They are distributed from the Praia do Sonho in the south (State of Santa Catarina, Brazil) to the city of Sechura, along the Piura River (Peru), where only monospecific forests are found (Avicennia germinans).
A wide range of mangrove tree heights may be found in the different countries of this region and even within the same country. While their canopy cover rarely exceeds 20 m in height, tall trees of 45 to 50 m may be found, for example in the ‘Manglares Cayapas-Mataje’ Ecologic Reserve (Ramsar site) or in the states of Amapá, Pará, and Maranhão (Brazil), where there are specimens of Avicennia spp. with a diameter of about 1 m and trees of Rhizophora harrisonii reaching 40-45 m. In these areas, mangroves extend up to 40 km inland and they remain relatively unthreatened due to the inaccessibility and low human population density. Well-developed mangrove communities are also found in the delta of the Amazon River, where trees can reach 40 m in height, sustained by high rainfall and by the river system itself. Due to the extremely high inputs of freshwater here, mangroves have to compete with local freshwater hardwoods, lianas and palms, which restricts mangrove distribution in the area. The Pacific coast of Colombia and the Orinoco delta of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela have significant mangrove forests as well, with trees up to 30 m in height, while 20-25-m mangrove trees have been reported in Guyana.