Caribbean pine | |
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Pinus caribaea specimen in El Hatillo, Miranda, Venezuela | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Gymnospermae |
Division: | Pinophyta |
Class: | Pinopsida |
Order: | Pinales |
Family: | Pinaceae |
Genus: | Pinus |
Subgenus: | P. subg. Pinus |
Section: | P. sect. Trifoliae |
Subsection: | P. subsect. Australes |
Species: | P. caribaea |
Binomial name | |
Pinus caribaea | |
Synonyms | |
Pinus hondurensisSénéclauze |
The Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea) is a hard pine species native to Central America and the northern West Indies (in Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands). 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.
As of 2013, the species has three accepted varieties: [2]
It has been proposed that the pines of Australes subsection (of which Caribbean pine is part) arrived to the Caribbean basin from the southeastern United States. [3] Regarding the population in the Bahamas, it has been proposed that this species emigrated into the region from Florida four or five thousand years ago, long after the end of the Ice Age, as the climate became wetter. Based on fossil species assemblages it is believed that the environment on the Bahamas was much less forested and a dry savannah during the glacial maximum some 18,000 years ago when the sea level was some 120 metres (390 feet) lower than it is today. [4] [5]
Paleoclimatic [6] and genetic data [7] have been used to propose that P. caribaea ultimately originated in Central America. According to chloroplast genetic data, P. caribaea lineages colonized the Caribbean islands from populations in Central America at least twice (one leading to Cuban populations and another leading to the populations on the Bahamas). [7]
The Uverito forest in Venezuela, located between the states of Anzoátegui and Monagas, is the largest artificial forest in the world planted by man, with around 600,000 hectares of Caribbean pine forest plantations.
Periodic wildfires play a major role in the distribution of this species; this tree regenerates quickly and aggressively, replacing broadleaf trees after fires. In zones without fires, the succession continues and the pine forest is replaced by tropical broadleaf forest. The young pines require bright sunlight to grow, and are resistant to fire once they mature. [8] [9]
Lumber and pulpwood from this tree shipped to Florida is the main export of the Abaco Islands. [10]
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, this species as a whole is considered of least concern, [1] [11] but two of the three varieties are considered endangered (var. caribaea) [12] or vulnerable (var. bahamensis). [13]
Pinus nigra, the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica and Cyprus, as well as Crimea and in the high mountains of Northwest Africa. The world's oldest black pine, located in the Banaz district of Uşak, Türkiye, is estimated to be 1000 years old. This makes it significant in the country, which is known for a very dry climate, inhospitable for most trees. It has a length of 11 meters, a diameter of 3 meters and a circumference of 9.60 meters.
Pinus arizonica, commonly known as the Arizona pine, is a medium-sized pine in northern Mexico, southeast Arizona, southwest New Mexico, and western Texas in the United States. It is a tree growing to 25–35 m tall, with a trunk diameter of up to 1.2 m. The needles are in bundles of 3, 4, or 5, with 5-needle fascicles being the most prevalent. This variability may be a sign of hybridization with the closely related ponderosa pine. The cones are single, paired, or in whorls of three, and 5–11 cm long.
The Abaco Islands lie in the north of The Bahamas, about 193 miles east of Miami, Florida, US. The main islands are Great Abaco and Little Abaco, which is just west of Great Abaco's northern tip. 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. Also of note off Abaco's western shore is Gorda Cay, now a Disney-owned island and 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. Mainland settlements include 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.
The Cuban amazon, also known as the Cuban parrot and the rose-throated parrot, is a medium-sized mainly green parrot found in woodlands and dry forests of Cuba, the Bahamas and Cayman Islands in the Caribbean. Although they have been observed in the wild in Puerto Rico, they are probably the result of escaped pets, and no reproduction has been recorded.
Pinus cubensis, or Cuban pine, is a pine endemic to the eastern highlands of the island of Cuba, inhabiting both the Sierra Nipe-Cristal and Sierra Maestra mountain ranges.
Pinus tropicalis, the tropical pine, is a pine tree endemic to the western highlands of the island of Cuba.
Pinus massoniana is a species of pine, native to Taiwan, a wide area of central and southern China, and northern Vietnam.
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.
Pinus pseudostrobus, known in English as the smooth-bark Mexican pine and in Spanish as chamite or pacingo, is a tree found in forests of Mexico and Central America. It is 8 to 25 m tall with a dense and round top.It is threatened by logging and wood harvesting. The bark is brown and fissured and smooth when young. It is subject to ex situ conservation. It grows at altitudes between 850 and 3250 m. from 26° to 15° north latitude, from Sinaloa, Mexico to Nicaragua and Honduras. It occurs within a rainfall regime that rains mostly in summer.
The western spindalis is a songbird species. It was formerly considered conspecific with the other three species of Spindalis, with the common name stripe-headed tanager.
The West Indian woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and Cuba.
Typhlatya is a genus of shrimp in the family Atyidae. These are small, stygobitic shrimp found in the West Mediterranean region, Caribbean region, Ascension Island and the Galápagos, although the individual species often have very small ranges. Species in this genus are found in salt, brackish and fresh waters, mostly in anchialine habitats and none in the open sea.
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 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 Bahamian pineyards are a tropical and subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The Cuban pine forests are a tropical coniferous forest ecoregion on the Caribbean islands of Cuba and Isla de la Juventud. They cover an area of 6,400 km2 (2,500 sq mi), occurring in separate sections in eastern Cuba and western Cuba and Isla de la Juventud.
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.