| Bolivian Yungas | |
|---|---|
 Yungas Road through the Bolivian Yungas | |
 Ecoregion territory (in purple) | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Neotropical |
| Biome | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest |
| Borders | |
| Geography | |
| Area | 90,500 km2 (34,900 sq mi) |
| Countries | |
| Conservation | |
| Protected | 49.37% [1] |
The Bolivian Yungas is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Yungas of central Bolivia. [2]
The ecoregion occurs in elevations ranging from 400 to 3,500 metres (1,300 to 11,500 ft) on the eastern slopes of the Andes in Bolivia, extending into a small portion of southeastern Peru. It forms a transition zone between the Southwest Amazon moist forests to the northeast and the Central Andean puna and wet puna to the southwest. [2]
The climate in this ecoregion varies from tropical rainforest to tropical monsoon. Fog and rain deposited by northern trade winds contribute to the high humidity and precipitation of the Yungas. [2]
Epiphytes are abundant and include bromeliads, orchids, and tree-ferns ( Cyathea ). Chusquea bamboo is an indicator species of the ecoregion. [2]
Mammals found in this ecoregion include the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), Geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi), lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris), jaguar (Panthera onca), jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), pacarana (Dinomys branickii), and dwarf brocket deer (Mazama chunyi). [2]
Interesting bird species include the diademed tapaculo (Scytalopus schulenbergi), green-capped tanager (Stilpnia meyerdeschauenseei), Andean cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruvianus), and southern helmeted curassow (Pauxi unicornis). [2]
The Bolivian Yungas is the center of the Afro-Bolivian community.
The Yungas Road, known for being dangerous, connects La Paz to the Bolivian Yungas.
Steep terrain, high precipitation, and difficult access have kept much of this ecoregion in a natural state. 49.37% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. [1] They include:
The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or water containing a characteristic set of natural communities that share a large majority of their species dynamics, and environmental conditions". For example, based on their levels of endemism, Madagascar gets multiple listings, ancient Lake Baikal gets one, and the North American Great Lakes get none.
The Yungas is a bioregion of a narrow band of forest along the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains from Peru and Bolivia, and extends into Northwest Argentina at the slope of the Andes pre-cordillera. It is a transitional zone between the Andean highlands and the eastern forests. Like the surrounding areas, the Yungas belong to the Neotropical realm; the climate is rainy, humid, and warm.
The Rio Abiseo National Park is located in the San Martín department of Peru. UNESCO pronounced it as Natural and Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 1990. The park is home to many species of flora and fauna, as well as the location of over 30 pre-Columbian archaeological sites. Since 1986, the park has not been open to tourism due to the fragile nature of both the natural and archaeological environment.
When the Spanish arrived, they divided Peru into three main regions: the coastal region, that is bounded by the Pacific Ocean; the highlands, that is located on the Andean Heights, and the jungle, that is located on the Amazonian Jungle. But Javier Pulgar Vidal, a geographer who studied the biogeographic reality of the Peruvian territory for a long time, proposed the creation of eight Natural Regions. In 1941, he presented his thesis "Las Ocho Regiones Naturales del Perú" at the III General Assembly of the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History.
Lauca National Park is located in Chile's far north, in the Andean range. It encompasses an area of 1,379 km2 of altiplano and mountains, the latter consisting mainly of enormous volcanoes. Las Vicuñas National Reserve is its neighbour to the south. Both protected areas, along with Salar de Surire Natural Monument, form Lauca Biosphere Reserve. The park borders Sajama National Park in Bolivia.
Amboró National Park in central Bolivia is a nature reserve with over 912 species of birds, over 177 mammalian species including puma, ocelot, and the rare spectacled bear. Covering an area of 4,425 km², it is protected from human settlements, hunting, mining and deforestation, though problems with all these still exist within the park. The Carrasco National Park is placed adjacent to Amboró, and together the two form a larger conservation unit.
The puna grassland ecoregion, of the montane grasslands and shrublands biome, is found in the central Andes Mountains of South America. It is considered one of the eight Natural Regions in Peru, but extends south, across Chile, Bolivia, and western northwest Argentina. The term puna encompasses diverse ecosystems of the high Central Andes above 3200–3400 m.
The Southern Andean steppe is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion occurring along the border of Chile and Argentina in the high elevations of the southern Andes mountain range.
The Southern Andean Yungas is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Yungas of southwestern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina.
The Peruvian Yungas comprise a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in Peru.
The Central Andean puna is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in the Andes of southern Peru, Bolivia, and northern Argentina.
The Central Andean wet puna is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia.
The Southwest Amazon moist forests (NT0166) is an ecoregion located in the Upper Amazon basin.
The Cordillera Central páramo (NT1004) is an ecoregion containing páramo vegetation above the treeline in the Andes mountain range of northern Peru and southern Ecuador. Due to its isolation there are high levels of endemism. Despite many human settlements and some destruction of habitat by agriculture and mining, the ecoregion is relatively intact.
The Bolivian montane dry forests (NT0206) is an ecoregion in Bolivia on the eastern side of the Andes. It is a transitional habitat between the puna grasslands higher up to the west and the Chaco scrub to the east. The habitat is under severe stress from a growing human population.
The Ucayali moist forests (NT0174) is an ecoregion in the western Amazon rainforest of Peru.
The Cauca Valley montane forests (NT0109) is an ecoregion in western Colombia. It covers the sides of the Cauca Valley, which runs from south to north between the Central and Western Ranges (cordilleras) of the Colombian Andes. The ecoregion is home to very diverse fauna and flora, due in part to its varied elevations and climates, in part to its position near the isthmus of Panama, the route along which North American species invaded South America and then diversified as they moved to the upper parts of the Andes. Little of the original habitat remains at lower levels, but higher up there are sizeable blocks of forest, some of which are protected.
