| Central American dry forests | |
|---|---|
 Valley in La Tigra National Park | |
 Ecoregion territory (in purple) | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Neotropical |
| Biome | tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests |
| Borders | |
| Geography | |
| Area | 68,100 km2 (26,300 sq mi) |
| Countries | |
| Conservation | |
| Conservation status | Critical/Endangered [1] |
| Protected | 6.75% [2] |
The Central American dry forests ecoregion, of the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests biome, is located in Central America.
The ecoregion covers a total area of approximately 68,100 km2. It extends along the Pacific coast of Central America, from southern Chiapas in southeastern Mexico through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua to the northeast of Costa Rica. Pockets of dry forest are also found in inland valleys among the Central American mountains. The dry forests extend from sea level up to 800 meters elevation. [1]
The climate of the ecoregion is tropical. Average annual rainfall is between 1000 and 2000 mm, and is highly seasonal. 5 to 8 months of the year are dry, generally with one longer and one shorter dry period per year. [1]
The Central American mountains generally run from northwest to southeast, and Central America's prevailing winds generally blow from northeast or east to southwest or south. This weather and geologic pattern leaves much the Pacific slope of Central America, and some interior valleys, in the rain shadow of the mountains, and generally drier than the Caribbean side and the mountains. [1]
The main natural plant community is low-stature dry forest. The forest structure consists of a canopy of trees up to 30 meters in height, and an understory of small trees, large shrubs, and woody lianas. Most canopy trees are deciduous, losing their leaves during the dry season. Many canopy tree species belong to the bean family (Fabaceae) of flowering plants, and have compound leaves. Common canopy trees in the southern portion of the ecoregion include Bombax ceiba , Bonellia macrocarpa subsp. pungens, Calycophyllum candidissimum, Casearia arguta, Chomelia spinosa, Croton reflexifolius, Enterolobium cyclocarpum, Eugenia salamensis, Erythroxylum havanense, Guazuma ulmifolia, Handroanthus ochraceus, Tabebuia rosea, Thouinidium decandrum, Trichilia americana , and Zanthoxylum setulosum . [1]
The understory includes more evergreen trees and shrubs, often thorny, with members of the Rubiaceae family prominent. [1]
At least 50 plant species are endemic to the ecoregion. The genus Rehdera is endemic to northern Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica. [1]
Native mammals include jaguar (Felis onca), puma (Puma concolor), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), margay (Leopardus wiedii), jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii), northern tamandua (Tamandua mexicana), and Central American spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi). [1]
Near-endemic and limited-range bird species native to the ecoregion include the white-bellied chachalaca (Ortalis leucogastra), blue-tailed hummingbird (Saucerottia cyanura), giant wren (Campylorhynchus chiapensis), and Pacific parakeet (Psittacara strenuus). [1]
Much of the ecoregion has been cleared and converted into pastures for cattle grazing, which is the main cause of its destruction. It is ranked critical/endangered by the World Wildlife Fund. [1]
6.75% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include: [2]
Central America is a subregion of the Americas, frequently considered part of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Central America usually consists of seven countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Within Central America is the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, which extends from northern Guatemala to central Panama. Due to the presence of several active geologic faults and the Central America Volcanic Arc, there is a high amount of seismic activity in the region, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, which has resulted in death, injury, and property damage.
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions.
The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive several hundred millimeters of rain per year, they have long dry seasons that last several months and vary with geographic location. These seasonal droughts have great impact on all living things in the forest.
The Sierra Madre del Sur is a mountain range in southern Mexico, extending 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) from southern Michoacán east through Guerrero, to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca.
Santa Rosa National Park, is a national park, in Guanacaste Province, northwestern Costa Rica, it was created in 1966 by decree 3694.
The Talamancan montane forests ecoregion, in the tropical moist broadleaf forest biome, are in montane Costa Rica and western Panama in Central America.
The Cordillera de la Costa montane forests is a montane ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, in the Venezuelan Coastal Range on the Caribbean Sea in northern Venezuela.
The Central American pine–oak forests is a tropical and subtropical coniferous forests ecoregion in the mountains of northern Central America and Chiapas state in southern Mexico.
The Central America bioregion is a biogeographic region comprising southern Mexico and Central America.
The Isthmian–Atlantic moist forests (NT0129) are a Central American tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion located on the lowland slopes on the caribbean sea side of Nicaragua and Costa Rica and the Gulf and Pacific Ocean sides of Panama. The forest species are a mix of North American and South American, as this region only became a land bridge in the past 3 million years.
The Yucatán moist forests are an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund.
The Central American montane forests are an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund, located in mountains of Central America.
The Chiapas Depression dry forests form one of the ecoregions that belong to the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund, in northwestern Central America.
The Solimões-Japurá moist forests (NT0163) is an ecoregion in northwest Brazil and eastern Peru and Colombia in the Amazon biome. It has a hot climate with high rainfall throughout the year, and holds one of the most diverse collections of fauna and flora in the world. The ecoregion is relatively intact.
The Ecuadorian dry forests (NT0214) is an ecoregion near the Pacific coast of the Ecuador. The habitat has been occupied by people for centuries and has been severely damaged by deforestation, overgrazing and hillside erosion due to unsustainable agriculture. Only 1% of the original forest remains. The patches of forest, mostly secondary growth, are fragmented. They are home to many endemic species at risk of extinction.
The Eastern Panamanian montane forests (NT0122) is an ecoregion in the east of Panama and the extreme northwest of Colombia. It contains diverse flora and fauna, with considerable endemism. The ecoregion is largely intact due to its inaccessibility, although the opening of an extension of the Pan-American Highway has introduced threats from human activity.
The Veracruz montane forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in eastern Mexico. It includes a belt of montane tropical forest on the eastern slope of the southern Sierra Madre Oriental and eastern Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt ranges. These forests lie between the lowland Veracruz moist forests and the pine-oak forests of the higher mountains.
The Sierra Madre de Chiapas moist forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in southern Mexico and southern Guatemala, extending into the northwestern corner of El Salvador.
The Central American Atlantic moist forests ecoregion covers the lowland coastal forests of Honduras, southeast Guatemala, and the eastern forests of Nicaragua. Half of the ecoregion is closed-canopy tropical broadleaf evergreen forest, with tree heights reaching 50 meters. This ecoregion has the largest single fragment of natural forest in Central America, with a size of 14,629 square kilometres (5,648 sq mi). The total area is 89,979 square kilometres (34,741 sq mi).
The Costa Rican seasonal moist forests ecoregion covers the Pacific Slope of the volcanic mountain range of northwestern Costa Rica and the extreme south of Nicaragua. The area has a distinct dry season during which the characteristic deciduous trees drop their leaves. The forests themselves have been highly degraded in the past by human conversion to agriculture and settlement. The Costa Rican capital city of San Jose is in the middle of this ecoregion.