标签巴西下的文章

大自然的水族馆中的水下景观，巴西 Underwater river scene with freshwater plants and tetra fish, Aquário Natural, Rio Baia Bonito, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil (© Michel Roggo/Minden Pictures)

如此清澈，如此洁净 So fresh, so clean

Freshwater plants in Aquario Natural, Brazil

Aquário Natural (Natural Aquarium, naturally) is the pristine, crystal-clear source of the Baía Bonita River and a highlight of the Baía Bonita Ecological Reserve. This remote inland region of Brazil is a popular spot for eco-tourism. A tour of the Aquário Natural offers a hike through the jungle followed by snorkeling with over 30 varieties of fish and gorgeous vegetation to marvel at. Other popular activities of the area include swimming the Silver River, rappelling 236 feet down into the waters of the Anhumas Abyss, and walking through the treetops on the suspended steel walkway of the Circuito Arvorismo (The Trees Circuit).

The underwater scene in today's image of plants and tetra fish was photographed by Swiss artist Michel Roggo. Since 2010, Roggo has crisscrossed the world in search of the most beautiful freshwater environments. His work has taken him to 48 locations where he has taken more than 12,000 photographs. His projects highlight the need to protect unsullied locations and to safeguard the world's wetlands and freshwater ecosystems.

巴西Aquario Natural的淡水植物

阿奎里奥自然水族馆（Natural Aquario，Natural）是巴尼亚博尼塔河的原始、清澈的源头，也是巴尼亚博尼塔生态保护区的一大亮点。巴西这个偏远的内陆地区是生态旅游的热门景点。阿奎里奥自然之旅提供了一次穿越丛林的徒步旅行，然后是30多种鱼类和华丽植被的浮潜。该地区其他受欢迎的活动包括在银河上游泳，用绳索将236英尺的水降到Anhumas深渊的水中，以及在Circuito Arvorismo（树木赛道）的悬挂式钢制走道上穿过树梢。

今天的植物和鱼类图片中的水下场景是由瑞士艺术家米歇尔·罗格拍摄的。自2010年以来，罗格在世界各地寻找最美丽的淡水环境。他的工作带他去了48个地方，在那里他拍了12000多张照片。他的项目强调了保护无污染地点和保护世界湿地和淡水生态系统的必要性。

上弗洛雷斯塔附近晨雾中亚马逊雨林，巴西马托格罗索 Amazon rainforest with fog in the morning near Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil (© Pulsar Imagens/Alamy)

A misty morning in Brazil

The Amazon rainforest is big. Almost unimaginably big. To begin to grasp its immensity, consider these numbers: The Amazon rainforest covers about 2% of the world's surface area, nearly 2.1 million square miles across South America, mostly (nearly 60%) in the country you see here, Brazil. It's an area that accounts for over half the Earth's remaining rainforests. The breadth of biodiversity is incomparable–nearly 16,000 different tree species, 40,000 species of other plants, 2.5 million insect species, and over 2,000 different types of birds and mammals. Incredibly, perhaps a tenth of the planet's known species call the Amazon home, many of which have not even been identified.

Yet, despite its vastness and ecological riches, the Amazon and the world's rainforests in general are in jeopardy, with large swaths of these precious environments being stripped and spoiled every day. Recent analysis has revealed some ominous warning signs that the Amazon rainforest, long known as the 'Lungs of the World,' is now spewing out as much greenhouse gas as it can store because of rampant deforestation here. If true, this is a bad sign in our battle against climate change. Hopefully, these warnings will raise awareness about the importance of rainforests, and the vital 'carbon sink' role they play in creating and maintaining the air that we breath. The more we learn about rainforests, the more we appreciate how our own future, and the future of our planet, hinges upon their health.

巴西雾蒙蒙的早晨

亚马逊雨林很大。几乎难以想象的大。要开始理解它的浩瀚，考虑一下这些数字：亚马逊雨林覆盖了大约2%的世界表面积，几乎210万平方英里横跨南美洲，大部分（近60%）在你看到的国家，巴西。这个地区占了地球剩余雨林的一半以上。生物多样性的广度是无与伦比的——将近16000种不同的树种，40000种其他植物，250万种昆虫，2000多种不同类型的鸟类和哺乳动物。令人难以置信的是，地球上大约十分之一的已知物种称亚马逊为家，其中许多物种甚至还没有被确认。

然而，尽管亚马逊地区幅员辽阔，生态资源丰富，但它和整个世界的雨林都处于危险之中，大片宝贵的环境每天都被剥夺和破坏。最近的分析揭示了一些不祥的警告信号，长期以来被称为“世界之肺”的亚马逊雨林，由于这里森林砍伐猖獗，现在正喷出尽可能多的温室气体。如果这是真的，那么这是我们应对气候变化斗争中的一个坏迹象。希望这些警告能提高人们对雨林重要性的认识，以及它们在创造和维持我们呼吸的空气中所起的重要“碳汇”作用。我们对雨林了解得越多，我们就越了解我们自己的未来，以及我们星球的未来如何取决于它们的健康。

伦索伊斯马拉年塞斯国家公园，巴西巴雷里尼亚斯市 Lençóis Maranhenses National Park in Barreirinhas, Brazil (© WIN-Initiative/Getty Images)

White dunes, blue lagoons

From the air, the mesmerizing tapestry of sandy dunes and lagoons you see here gives Lençóis Maranhenses National Park an otherworldly, desert-like appearance. Located in the sparsely populated Northeast corner of Brazil, this park gets far too much annual rainfall—nearly 50 inches—to be considered a desert. In fact, heavy rain is part of what makes this place unique: Nearly 70% of its annual rainfall comes between January and May, filling the park's nearly 40,000 lagoons to the brim with fresh rainwater. Why doesn't the water sink into the sand? A layer of impermeable bedrock beneath the dunes prevents that from happening.

Despite its remote location, the park, established in 1981, has become a popular destination for ecotourists. They come partly to see the many kinds of animals and plants that manage to thrive here, including several endangered species. One of the park's most famous inhabitants is the predatory Atlantic wolffish, which lies dormant during the dry season by burying itself into the layers of wet mud in the lagoons, only to reemerge to snack on unsuspecting prey as the pools refill with the rains.

白色沙丘，蓝色泻湖

从空中看，这里迷人的沙丘和泻湖挂毯给了伦索斯马兰森斯国家公园一个超凡脱俗的沙漠般的外观。这个公园位于巴西人口稀少的东北角，年降雨量高达近50英寸，不算沙漠。事实上，暴雨是这个地方独特之处的一部分：每年近70%的降雨量来自1月至5月，公园近4万个泻湖被新鲜雨水填满。为什么水不沉进沙子里？沙丘下面的一层不透水的基岩阻止了这种情况的发生。

尽管地理位置偏远，但这座建于1981年的公园已成为生态旅游者的热门目的地。他们来这里的部分原因是看到许多种类的动植物在这里繁衍生息，包括一些濒临灭绝的物种。该公园最著名的居民之一是捕食性的大西洋狼鱼，它在旱季蛰伏在泻湖的湿泥层中，结果又重新出现，在雨水不断涌入的池塘中捕食毫无防备的猎物。

Reflections on the mighty Amazon

For World Rainforest Day we take you below these clouds to the Amazon River Basin and the largest rainforest in the world. At more than 2.1 million square miles, the Amazon accounts for half of Earth's remaining tropical rainforests. And a fifth of the world's freshwater flows through this river basin. Perhaps a tenth of the planet's known species call it home, many of which have yet to be identified—that's trees, plants, fish, mammals, and a third of Earth's bird species. Now take a deep breath. The ‘Lungs of the World' produces 20 percent of Earth's oxygen, while storing vast amounts of carbon dioxide, earning it an all-star ‘carbon sink' status.

Why's it called the Amazon? Spanish explorer and conquistador Francisco de Orellana gave it that name after encountering indigenous women of the Pira-tapuya tribe who fought alongside men. The women warriors of the region reminded Orellana of the Amazons of Greek mythology. Today, the Amazon rainforest still sounds almost mythologically powerful—and it is. Yet, all rainforests are fragile biosystems. Worldwide, we lose swaths of these precious environments to agriculture and mining. However, the pace of deforestation is slowing as farming methods improve and advocacy efforts build awareness around these rich bio-diverse tropical rainforests. The more we learn about rainforests, the more we appreciate how our own future, and the future of our planet, hinge upon their health.

日落时的Paepalanthus花，巴西Chapada dos Veadeiros国家公园 Paepalanthus flowers at sunset, Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, Brazil (© Marcio Cabral/Getty Images)

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