Selva is a tropical forest of the Amazon region - a region around the river of the same name and its tributaries. This area is a vast area in the central and northern parts of South America, covered with dense vegetation. There is the greatest biological diversity on the planet. The territory covers northern Brazil and a number of areas of Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia.
What is selva?
To this seemingly simple question, scientists from different countries do not give unambiguous answers. In the academic environment of Russia, selva is considered to be a specific territory within the largest Amazon river basin in the world.
Western scientists believe that selva is the equatorial forest of the Earth. In addition to South America, they are located in the Congo River Basin (Africa) and on the islands of Southeast Asia - Kalimantan, Sumatra, Philippines, New Guinea and others. A number of specialists even extend this concept to all tropical forests. Answering the question of what a selva is, we will still be guided by the opinion of Russian scientists.
Ecosystem
Amazonian forests develop in conditions of year-round high temperatures and high humidity, which favors the development of dense and lush evergreen vegetation. Selva is the “light planet”. The amount of green mass here is so great that it absorbs and processes thousands of tons of carbon dioxide, simultaneously emitting life-giving oxygen.
Unfortunately, locals without reverence belong to their national, even world heritage. Huge areas of selva are illegally cut down for agricultural purposes. The use of pesticides and fertilizers destroys the ecosystem. This causes irreparable environmental damage to the entire planet. The situation is aggravated by the construction of a transcontinental highway between Brazil and Peru, passing through the southern regions of Selva.
Flora
A photo of a selva will surely hit an outsider with an endless sea of greenery, stretching from horizon to horizon. In the forests of the Amazon, 20% of the world's plant species were found. So, in the lagoons along the Amazon River grows an amazing aquatic plant Victoria amazonica with large round leaves. They can grow more than a meter in diameter and can withstand the weight of the child afloat.
Selva is a multi-tiered jungle with an incredible number of trees of all kinds. There are growing here: itahuba, carikari, tajibos, cedar, root of the badger, mandrillo and others. About 50% of tree species are exotic, a significant part are endemic. In pursuit of the sun, tropical trees grow up to 30 m or more. Their services are used by vines, orchids and saprophytes. In the lower tier, penumbra stands on the ground, where mushrooms and lichens thrive.
In this biological environment, the highest competition for a place in the sun. And a real giant over a sea of greenery rises Brazil nut. This 45-meter giant survives up to 1000 years, and their nut seeds retain their germination for decades.
Wild flowers of incredible beauty and diversity are found here throughout the territory from river lowlands to the foot of the mountains. Here you can find many types of medicinal plants that can treat a wide range of diseases:
- sores;
- asthma
- snake bites;
- blood problems
- heart diseases;
- respiratory diseases;
- stomatitis;
- digestion problems, etc.
Fauna
Although the Selva of South America cannot boast of such giants of the animal world as elephants, lions, bison, moose, bears, but it stands out for its incredible species diversity. Amazonia mammals are represented by a large number of species. These are monkeys, armadillos, jaguars, cougars, kumaras, anteaters, tapirs, deer, bats, sloths, etc. Manatees and two species of dolphins live in its waters.
The described region is a paradise for reptiles: water and land lizards, turtles, caimans, gavials, snakes (including the anaconda - the largest in the world). Over 100,000 species of insects inhabit this area, and every year scientists discover more and more new representatives.
No other ecosystem in the world can boast so many species of birds. Among them: macaw, toucans, large eagles, hummingbirds and other birds, famous for their bright "floral" plumage. In total, 20% of the world's bird diversity was found in selva.
2000 species of fish (one third of the planet’s freshwater inhabitants) live in the waters. Some of them are so amazing that it is hard to believe in their existence. Among the most famous are piranhas, electric eel, giant arapaima, breathing lepidosiren, and numerous aquarium fish of incredible colors.
The Secret of Eldorado
Oddly enough, Amazonia was not always covered in impenetrable jungle. As a result of sensational archaeological discoveries by means of satellites, numerous settlements were discovered at the site of felling. They were small fortified villages scattered over a large territory. Thus, the legend of the conquistadors about the country of Eldorado, lost in the Amazonian forests, has very real roots.