| Bahamian pineyards | |
|---|---|
 South Andros, The Bahamas | |
 Ecoregion territory (in red) | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Neotropical |
| Biome | tropical and subtropical coniferous forests |
| Borders | |
| Geography | |
| Area | 2,100 km2 (810 sq mi) |
| Countries | |
| Conservation | |
| Conservation status | Critical/endangered |
The Bahamian pineyards are a tropical and subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The Bahamian pineyards cover an area of 2,100 km2 (810 sq mi). [1] [2] Pineyards are found on four of the northern islands in the Bahamas: Andros, Abaco, Grand Bahama, where they cover half of the island, [3] and New Providence, as well as the Caicos Islands.
Despite having a rich modern flora and fauna and being critically important to native and endemic species of the Bahamas, preserved pollen records collected from sinkholes indicate that the pineyards, or at least the ones of the northern Bahamas (Abaco, Grand Bahama, New Providence, and Andros) have a largely anthropogenic origin. Prior to the arrival of the Lucayan people, the northern Bahamas were originally covered in Bahamian dry forests composed primarily of poisonwood (Metopium toxiferum), gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba), and Fabaceae, Arecaceae, Eugenia , and Solanum species, with a unique reptile-dominated faunal community: the top herbivore of this habitat was the extinct Albury's tortoise ( Chelonoidis alburyorum ) and the top predator was the now-extirpated Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer). The presence of conifers like Pinus and Juniperus was likely minimal and localized around this time. [4]
Following the arrival of the Lucayans around 830 CE, large reptiles became extinct or extirpated within 1–2 centuries, and the original hardwood forests were cleared between 875 and 1090 CE by increasing harvesting for firewood and a newly introduced fire regime for the purposes of cassava cultivation, leading to the islands having a more open habitat increasingly dominated by weedy, secondary-successional species such as southern bayberry (Myrica cerifera), West Indian nettle tree (Trema lamarckianum) and Vachellia species. Pollen records indicate that the pine population significantly increased after 970 CE, with the modern pyrogenic pine forests being established by 1200 CE. An expansion of Barbados juniper (Juniperus barbadensis) also happened at the expense of the pines between 1400 and 1500. [4]
Between 1510 and 1765, after most of the Lucayans had been enslaved by the Spaniards and taken to Hispaniola, a series of hurricanes led to the inundation of most of the low-lying pineyards with these being taken over by mangroves, causing the pineyards to be restricted to upland areas. However, there was a new expansion of pineyards after the American Revolution when Loyalists took over the islands and reintroduced a fire regime for agricultural opportunities. However, over next three centuries, human activities post-colonization again lead to a decline in the extent of the pineyards. [4]
Pineyards are dominated by Bahamian pine (Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis), while pinepink ( Bletia purpurea ), bushy beard grass ( Andropogon glomeratus ), southern bracken fern ( Pteridium aquilinum ), Florida clover ash ( Tetrazygia bicolor ), Bahamian trumpet tree ( Tabebuia bahamensis ), West Indian snowberry ( Chiococca alba ), devil's gut ( Cassytha filiformis ), poisonwood ( Metopium toxiferum ), coontie ( Zamia integrifolia ) and thatch palm ( Coccothrinax argentata ) grow in the understory. Without regular wildfires, pineyards are supplanted by broadleafed coppice. Young Bahamian pines require extensive amounts of sunlight to grow, and are resistant to fire once they become adults. [5]
Fauna found in the pine forests include reptiles, such as rock iguanas ( Cyclura sp.) and boas ( Epicrates sp.), and birds, such as the West Indian woodpecker (Melanerpes superciliaris), Bahama woodstar (Calliphlox evelynae), Bahama yellowthroat (Geothlypis rostrata), the possibly-extinct Bahama nuthatch (Sitta insularis), Bahama oriole (Icterus northropi), Bahama warbler (Setophaga flavescens) and Bahama swallow (Tachycineta cyaneoviridis). Kirtland's warblers (Dendroica kirtlandii) migrate every year from jack pine forests in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan to spend the winter in the Bahamian pineyards. [6] The only mammal found is the buffy flower bat (Erophylla sezekorni). Many of these species are endemic to this habitat and depend on the pines, and are threatened by activities such as deforestation and storm damage that have led to declines in the extent of the forest.
Increased logging of junipers after colonization and the pines themselves after the 20th century has again lead to a decline in the extent of the pineyards, which has been compounded by invasive species such as the beach sheoak (Casuarina equisetifolia) and the increasing frequency of hurricanes due to climate change; Hurricanes Frances, Jeanne, and especially Dorian have all dealt massive, lasting damage to the pineyards. [4] At least one species of bird, the Bahama nuthatch (Sitta insularis) may have been driven to extinction in 2019 as a result of Hurricanes Matthew and Dorian; a distinct population of the Bahama oriole from Abaco was also extirpated in the 1990s following Hurricane Andrew. [7] [8] Evidence indicates that tropical hardwood forests such as the ones that formerly covered the Bahamas are naturally much more resilient to hurricane damage than pine-dominated ones; due to this, the special vulnerability of the pineyards ecosystem to climatic extremes may be due to its anthropogenic origin. [4]
The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the archipelago's population. The archipelagic state consists of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, and is located north of Cuba and northwest of the island of Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeast of the U.S. state of Florida, and east of the Florida Keys. The capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force describes The Bahamas' territory as encompassing 470,000 km2 (180,000 sq mi) of ocean space.
The Bahamas are a group of about 700 islands and cays in the western Atlantic Ocean, of which only between 30 and 40 are inhabited. The largest of the islands is Andros Island, located north of Cuba and 200 kilometres southeast of Florida. The Bimini islands are to its northwest. To the North is the island of Grand Bahama, home to the second-largest city in the country, Freeport. The island of Great Abaco is to its east. In the far south is the island of Great Inagua, the second-largest island in the country. Other notable islands include Eleuthera, Cat Island, San Salvador Island, Acklins, Crooked Island, and Mayaguana. Nassau is the capital and largest city, located on New Providence. The islands have a tropical savannah climate, moderated by the Gulf Stream. The total size is 13,878 km2 (5,358 sq mi). Due to the many widespread islands it has the 41st largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 654,715 km2 (252,787 sq mi).
Andros Island is an archipelago within the Bahamas, the largest of the Bahamian Islands. Politically considered a single island, Andros in total has an area greater than all the other 700 Bahamian islands combined. The land area of Andros consists of hundreds of small islets and cays connected by mangrove estuaries and tidal swamplands, together with three major islands: North Andros, Mangrove Cay, and South Andros. The three main islands are separated by bights, estuaries that trifurcate the island from east to west. It is 167 kilometres (104 mi) long by 64 km (40 mi) wide at the widest point.
The Abaco Islands lie in the northern Bahamas, located about 193 miles east of Miami, Florida. The main islands are Great Abaco and Little Abaco. There are several smaller barrier cays, of which the northernmost are Walker's Cay and its sister island Grand Cay. To the south, the next inhabited islands are Spanish Cay and Green Turtle Cay, with its settlement of New Plymouth, Great Guana Cay, private Scotland Cay, Man-O-War Cay, and Elbow Cay, with its settlement of Hope Town. Southernmost are Tilloo Cay and Lubbers Quarters. Another of note off Abaco's western shore is Gorda Cay, now a Disney-owned island and a cruise ship stop renamed Castaway Cay. Also in the vicinity is Moore's Island. On the Big Island of Abaco is Marsh Harbour, the Abacos' commercial hub and the Bahamas' third largest city, plus the resort area of Treasure Cay. Both have airports. A few mainland settlements of significance are Coopers Town and Fox Town in the north and Cherokee and Sandy Point in the south. Administratively, the Abaco Islands constitute seven of the 31 Local Government Districts of the Bahamas: Grand Cay, North Abaco, Green Turtle Cay, Central Abaco, South Abaco, Moore's Island, and Hope Town.
Grand Bahama is the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, with the town of West End located 56 nautical miles east of Palm Beach, Florida. It is the third largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays. The island is roughly 530 square miles (1,400 km2) in area and approximately 153 kilometres (95 mi) long west to east and 24 kilometres (15 mi) at its widest point north to south. Administratively, the island consists of the Freeport Bonded Area and the districts of East Grand Bahama and West Grand Bahama. Nearly half of the homes on the island were damaged or destroyed in early September 2019 by Hurricane Dorian.
Freeport is a city, district and free trade zone on the island of Grand Bahama of the northwest Bahamas. In 1955, Wallace Groves, a Virginian financier with lumber interests in Grand Bahama, was granted 20,000 hectares of pineyard with substantial areas of swamp and scrubland by the Bahamian government with a mandate to economically develop the area. Freeport has grown to become the second most populous city in the Bahamas.
The Caribbean pine is a hard pine species native to Central America and the northern West Indies. It belongs to subsection Australes in subgenus Pinus. It inhabits tropical and subtropical coniferous forests such as Bahamian pineyards, in both lowland savannas and montane forests.
Tyto pollens is an extinct giant barn owl which lived in the Bahamas during the last Ice Age.
The Bahama swallow is an endangered swallow endemic to The Bahamas.
The Caribbean bioregion is a biogeographic region that includes the islands of the Caribbean Sea and nearby Atlantic islands, which share a fauna, flora and mycobiota distinct from surrounding bioregions.
The chickcharney is a legendary creature in the folklore of Andros Island in the Bahama Islands. It is said to live in the forests, is furry or feathered, and about 3 feet tall, with an ugly appearance resembling an owl. In common legend, if a traveler meets a chickcharney and treats it well, they will be rewarded with good luck, while treating a chickcharney badly will result in bad luck and hard times. Sightings have continued into the present. It is said that the birds make their nest by bringing several pine trees together and making their nest in the middle. Several of these tree formations have been sighted.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to The Bahamas:
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
The Bahamian dry forests are a tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, covering an area of 4,900 km2 (1,900 sq mi). They are found on much of the northern Bahamas, including Andros, Abaco, and Grand Bahama, where they are known as coppices. Dry forests are distributed evenly throughout the Turks and Caicos.
The Bahama oriole is a species of songbird in the New World blackbird family Icteridae. It is endemic to the Bahamas, and listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List.
The Bahama warbler is an endangered species of bird in the family Parulidae that is endemic to The Bahamas.
Neobracea bahamensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae that is endemic to Cuba and several islands in the Bahamas including Andros, New Providence, Cat Island, Great Exuma, Long Cay and Crooked Island. In its native environment, the plant grows in coastal thickets, pine barrens and along the borders of brackish swamps. It can also be found along roadways on these islands.
The Bahama nuthatch is a nuthatch species endemic to the pineyards of Grand Bahama island in the Bahamas. It may be extinct as of 2019.
The effects of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas in 2019 were among the worst experienced for any natural disaster in the country. Hurricane Dorian struck the Abaco Islands as a Category 5 hurricane on September 1, and a day later hit Grand Bahama Island at the same category. The hurricane then stalled over Grand Bahama for another day, finally pulling away from the island on September 3. Damage amounted to US$3.4 billion, and there were at least 74 deaths in the country. Another 282 people were left missing after the hurricane.
The Bahama Archipelago, also known as the Lucayan Archipelago, is an island group comprising the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The archipelago is in the western North Atlantic Ocean, north of Cuba along with the other Antilles, and east and southeast of Florida. The archipelago has experienced the effects of at least 22 Atlantic hurricanes, or storms that were once tropical or subtropical cyclones, including 17 since 2000. The storms collectively killed 101 people.