Bolivian montane dry forests

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Bolivian montane dry forests (NT0206)
Torotoro national park.jpg
Ecoregion NT0206.png
Ecoregion territory (in purple)
Ecology
Realm Neotropical
Biome Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
Geography
Area80,300 km2 (31,000 sq mi)
Country Bolivia
Coordinates 18°22′01″S65°02′20″W / 18.367°S 65.039°W / -18.367; -65.039
Climate typeCwb: warm temperate, winter dry, warm summer

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.

Contents

Geography

Location

The ecoregion is in the dry mountain valleys of the Andes in southern Bolivia. It has an area of 80,300 square kilometres (31,000 sq mi). [1] In the south large areas of the ecoregion are found within the Central Andean puna and Southern Andean Yungas. To the east the dry forests transition into the Dry Chaco ecoregion. Further north smaller areas of the ecoregion are found in contact with the Central Andean dry puna, Central Andean wet puna and Bolivian Yungas. [1]

Terrain

The terrain is rugged, with cliffs, steep hillsides, valleys and gullies. [1]

Altitudes are from 1,000–3,300 metres (3,300–10,800 ft) above sea level. [2]

In the east fingers of the dry forest stretch into the yungas, while in the west fingers of puna grassland extend into the dry forest. [1]

Climate

At a sample location at 18°45′S65°15′W / 18.75°S 65.25°W / -18.75; -65.25 the Köppen climate classification is "Cwb": warm temperate, winter dry, warm summer. [3] At this location the mean monthly temperatures range from 13.5 °C (56.3 °F) in July to 18.8 °C (65.8 °F) in November. Yearly total precipitation is about 580 millimetres (23 in). Average monthly precipitation is below 10 millimetres (0.39 in) in May–August, and rises to 137.4 millimetres (5.41 in) in January. [3]

Ecology

The ecoregion is in the neotropical realm, in the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests biome. [1]

Flora

Vachellia caven Acaciacaven29b.jpg
Vachellia caven

The dry forest ecoregion is a transitional habitat between the puna grasslands higher up to the west and the Chaco scrub to the east. It contains dry slopes with scattered shrubs and columnar cacti, seasonal dry forest and wetland forest along river courses. [1] Where the spiny forest has been unaltered it holds species such as Vachellia caven , Prosopis alpataco , Dodonaea viscosa , Schinopsis marginata , and Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco . [1]

Fauna

Several mammal species more common in the tropics are at the southern limit of their territory in the ecoregion. There appear to be a variety of feline species including cougar (Puma concolor), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), Pampas cat (Leopardus pajeros), Geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi) and jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi). [1] Endangered mammals include the Bolivian chinchilla rat (Abrocoma boliviensis) and short-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla chinchilla). [4]

Endemic birds include the Bolivian recurvebill (Syndactyla striatus), Bolivian blackbird (Oreopsar bolivianus), citron-headed yellow finch (Sicalis luteocephala), Cochabamba mountain finch (Compsospiza garleppi), Bolivian warbling finch (Poospiza boliviana), torrent duck (Merganetta armata), wedge-tailed hillstar (Oreotrochilus adela), black-hooded sunbeam (Aglaeactis pamela) and grey-bellied flowerpiercer (Diglossa carbonaria). [1] Endangered birds include the red-fronted macaw (Ara rubrogenys) and Bolivian spinetail (Cranioleuca henricae). [4]

Endangered amphibians include the frog Telmatobius sibiricus . [4]

Status

The subtropical lower montane dry and moist life zones in the deep valleys between the mountains of the eastern Cordillera include the towns of Comarapa, Independencia, Totora, Tapacarí and Arque. These are the most favorable areas for human settlement, and have long been farmed, leaving little of the original vegetation. [5]

The World Wildlife Fund gives the Bolivian montane dry forests ecoregion the status of "Critical/Endangered". The growing human population is creating urban sprawl and over-hunting, collecting wood for fuel and converting land for agriculture, causing habitat fragmentation. [1]

Protected areas include the Madidi National Park and the Cordillera de Sama Biological Reserve. [1] Others are the Tariquía Flora and Fauna National Reserve and Torotoro National Park.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yungas</span> Natural region in Peru and Bolivia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aconquija National Park</span> National park in Tucumán, Argentina

Aconquija National Park, formerly known as Campo de los Alisos National Park, is a federal protected area in Tucumán Province, Argentina. Established on 9 August 1995, it houses a representative sample of the Southern Andean Yungas montane forest biodiversity in good state of conservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puna grassland</span> Type of grassland in the central part of the high Andes

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Andean steppe</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Andean Yungas</span> Ecoregion in Argentina and Bolivia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Andean puna</span>

The Central Andean puna is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in the Andes of southern Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile and Argentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Andean wet puna</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecuadorian dry forests</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patía Valley dry forests</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Marta páramo</span> Ecoregion in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venezuelan Andes montane forests</span> Ecoregion in Venezuela

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cordillera Oriental montane forests</span> Ecoregion in Venezuela and Colombia

The Cordillera Oriental montane forests (NT0118) is an ecoregion in Venezuela and Colombia along the east slopes of the eastern cordillera of the Andes. The extensive region of submontane and montane forests includes distinctive flora and fauna in the north, center and southern sections. The ecoregion is home to numerous endemic species of fauna. Despite extensive changes due to logging, farming and ranching, large areas of the original habitat remain intact, and the ecoregion has rich biodiversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwestern Andean montane forests</span>

The Northwestern Andean montane forests (NT0145) is an ecoregion on the Andes mountains in the west of Colombia and Ecuador. Both flora and fauna are highly diverse due to effect of ice ages when the warmer climate zones were separated and the cooler ones combined, and interglacial periods when the reverse occurred. Because the environment is hospitable to humans, the habitat has been drastically modified by farming and grazing since the Pre-Columbian era.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Marta montane forests</span>

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References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Bolivian montane dry forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
    2. López, Ramiro Pablo (April 2003). "Diversidad florística y endemismo de los valles secos bolivianos". Ecología en Bolivia (in Spanish). 38 (1): 27–60. ISSN   1605-2528.
    3. 1 2 "Climate Data for Latitude -18.75 Longitude -65.25". Global Species. Archived from the original on 2017-03-17.
    4. 1 2 3 "Bolivian montane dry forests". Global Species. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22.
    5. Hartshorn, Gary S. (October 1979), Natural Forests of Bolivia (PDF), Institute of Current World Affairs, retrieved 2017-05-01