The product presents updated alphanumerical (text mode) and graphic information, suitable for the scale 1:250,000 (in which 1 cm of the map corresponds to 2.5 Km of the territory).

The product presents updated alphanumerical (text mode) and graphic information, suitable for the scale 1:250,000 (in which 1 cm of the map corresponds to 2.5 Km of the territory), that is, a scale which allows a low level of generalization. It presents the spatial distribution of the different types of vegetation in the Legal Amazon, possibly reaching the level of sub-formation, in which it is possible to establish the difference of the characteristics inside the same vegetation area, according to the classification adopted by IBGE.

The structuring of the database allows its use for the creation of new products obtained from the crossing of information, which may contribute to studies aimed, among other things, at territorial ordering and also at subsidies for  public policies.

The Legal Amazon vegetation database can be accessed for free on the IBGE web site, www.ibge.gov.br, in the Download link, in the Geosciences section. The files are in shape format (vectors), which allows the user to handle the data, but requires specific programs to be read.  

The data about the Legal Amazon vegetation include about 2,500 points of forest inventory and of collection of botanical material, which encompass information relative to the volume of wood and occurrence of species, among other data. Several interpretive evaluations of these data may be conducted by unit of area, for different geographic segments – state, municipality, hydrographic bay, etc.

For the mapping update were used satellite images, updated bibliographies, information obtained from field work and also studies conducted by other institutions.

The information in this database is to be constantly updated, with the inclusion of new data and technological improvement. This database content, together with data generated by IBGE or other institutions, makes it available to evaluate the environmental effects of human action on certain areas of the Legal Amazon.

The Amazon is the area encompassed by the bay of the Amazon River, the longest on the planet, formed by 25,000 Km of rivers, in about 6,900,000 km², of which about 3,800,000 km² are in Brazil. The Legal Amazon, as stated in Article 2 of Law no 5,173, of October 1966, encompasses the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Tocantins, part of Maranhão and five municipalities of Goiás. It represents 59% of the Brazilian territory, or about 5 million km², distributed among 775 municipalities and inhabited by a little over 20 million persons, according to the 2006 Population Count.