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The Rio Negro basin presents a certain variety in vegetation types. The main ones are: terra firme forest, which occupies higher lands that escape flooding; open grasslands, grasslands with transition to forest or Amazonian stunted forest, a kind of low forest, bushy, varying between six and twenty meters, which grows on white sandy soils, flooded during the heavy rains, and which, in its poorest form, consists of very low and sparse bushes (three to six meters) , interspersed with creeping vegetation; floodland vegetation, which most of the time is underwater (for 7 to 10 months a year) which, while it has a smaller number of species in comparison with the terra firme forest, it is more diversified than the caatinga stunted forest; and heath, an area of localized vegetation on the banks of the rivers which remains flooded all of the time.

This diversity of natural landscapes of the Upper Rio Negro has a direct relation with the distribution and availability of natural resources important for the lives of the populations of the region (game, fish, fibres and thatch for constructions and utensils, fertile lands for agriculture and so on). The areas of Amazonian scrub forest, flooded lands, besides the heaths, are totally inadequate for agricultural activities. Thus, for example, bitter manioc (maniva), a plant which is perfectly well-adapted to the ecological characteristics and limitations of the region, cannot be cultivated on flooded lands. For that reason, the gardens are always cleared on terra firme.

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The great variety of types of cultivation of manioc among these populations is particularly notable, making the region a pole of high agro-biodiversity. In the indigenous gardens of the upper Rio Negro, tons of leaves and debris and different stages of growth of the plants reveal a complex system, in which the central element of management is focused on the maintenance of diversity as a value in itself, since there is no direct relation between the use of a certain variety of manioc and a specific product (manioc flour, manioc bread, porridge, fermented manioc beverage, spices etc.), thus fitting into a logic which is the opposite of modern agriculture, which gives priority to homogeneity and productivity of the cultivation.

The conservation of such diversity is thought of as a collective good that is an integral part of a common cultural reference that is expressed, for example, through the myths of the origin of agriculture or cultivated plants. Moreover, it has patrimonial value and its circulation obeys collective rules.

The flooded lands, where the fish lay their eggs, are areas of recognized productivity in fishing, and are preserved for this purpose by the Indians. Areas of flooded lands are also rich in vines and rubber latex. The areas of scrub forest on the other hand are sources of straws, thatch, sororoca etc., raw materials for the covering of their houses. The brush – often areas of former gardens - are the preferred habitat of small animals which are highly prized by the Indians (cutias, acutivaras), and are also rich in medicinal plants. When the brush areas are left to fallow for twenty or thirty years, often, they are re-used by the Indians for new gardens. They demand less effort to be cut down and dry out after a few days of sun, which makes their burning quicker. The areas of brush are also valued because there are cultivated species which go on bearing fruit for many years, such as the peach-palm, buriti, caju, cucura and others.

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The strategies employed by the indigenous populations, developed over centuries of occupation and experience in this region, have made it possible for them to deal with the general poverty of its ecossystem, without degrading it and impoverishing it, thus securing the ecological balance on the upper Rio Negro. Among these careful and rational management practices of the natural resources, several stand out:

• The economic exploitation of differentiated ecological zones gives rise to the relations of economic and ritual trade among the various indigenous populations;
• The emphasis on bitter manioc agriculture through the slash-and-burn system, which consists of cutting down an area of primary forest or high secondary forest, which is then left to dry out and is later burned. The gardens planted in these clearings, which remain productive for two to three years, are gradually abandoned, although they continue to be  visited for gathering fruits with a longer maturation cycle. Each family has at least three gardens in different stages of development, besides continuing to exploit their old gardens no longer in use;
• In general the gardens are cleared in areas of terra firme, far from the riverbanks, in such a way as to preserve the principal sources of food derived from fishing activities;
• The high degree of specialization in fishing techniques (fixed traps called paris, matapis or cacuris) and the extensive knowledge of the seasons through an elaborate astronomical calendar allows them to accompany and take advantage of the cycles of high and low levels of the rivers and the migratory, reproductive, and feeding cycles of the fish;
• The mechanisms for circulation and redistribution of the natural resources among the phratries, through the system of matrimonial alliances based on linguistic exogamy (speakers of the same language must marry out of their linguistic group), as well as the formalized rituals of food exchange and the exchange of other goods( called dabucuris), which allow individuals to have access to natural resources that are not available in a given territory, promote rational economic exploitation on a regional level.