Brazil Eco Adventure Tours
Rainforest - Hiking & Trekking - Wildlife

By the action of the tides, the deposit of marine sediments has happened in the form of sandy strips, with some older terraces (see Restinga / Reefs ). The Restinga vegetation covering the coastal plains beach line is adapted to the salty and sandy soils under the tidal influences with reptilious herbaceous species of ample root systems. After this zone, over more stable strips, there is a dense arboreal bushy vegetation with many terrestrial bromeliads. Over the sandy strips there might be an established forest which is less exuberant than the tropical rainforest ecosystem, with similar flora, penetration of Cerrado elements, few characteristic species and a large quantity of epiphytes.

On the landward side the Restinga covered sandbars often act as a dam to form shallow coastal lagoons, these trapped rainwater-runoffs from the coastal hills provide a bordering wetland habitat in sharp contrast to the Restinga proper, a haven for water and waterside birds. To the seaward side of the Restinga lies the open South Atlantic Ocean, where many a pelagic straggler including Albatross, Penguin and even Arctic Skua and Manx Shearwater may occasionally get wrecked on the beach (see also The Restinga ).

Restinga vegetation can be found in the following protected areas:

    • National Parks: Superagüi and Jurubatiba
    • State Parks: Serra do Mar and Ilha do Cardoso
    • Juréia - Itatins Ecological Station and Juatinga Ecological Reserve.