Annual rainfall ranges from 1,250 to 1,750 mm, with a dry season from October to March.

Characteristic emergent and canopy trees include Astronium fraxinifolium (family Anacardiaceae), Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Leguminosae), Cordia trichotoma (Boraginaceae), and Tabebuia chrysotricha (Bignoniaceae).

Bird species include the buff-breasted tody-tyrant (Hemitriccus mirandae), white-winged cotinga (Xipholena atropurpurea), seven-colored tanager (Tangara fastuosa), and yellow-faced siskin (Carduelis yarrellii).

Only 5% of the original forest remains; the rest has been cleared for timber and fuel wood, agriculture, or cattle ranching.

The Pedra Talhada Biological Reserve, in Quebrangulo, Alagoas, is an important refuge for the endangered and threatened birds of the ecoregion.