The Maracaibo dry forests (NT0222) is an ecoregion in Venezuela around Lake Maracaibo. It contains the country's main oil fields. The habitat is criss-crossed by roads and is severely degraded by farming and livestock grazing.
The Maracaibo dry forests surround Lake Maracaibo in northwest Venezuela. The ecoregion has an area of 4,506,579 hectares (11,136,000 acres).[1] Most of the ecoregion is in Zulia state, with some in Trujillo state.[2]
The Maracaibo dry forests are in the coluvio-alluvial coastal plains around Lake Maracaibo, bordering the Serranía del Perijá to the west, the Cordillera de Mérida to the south and the Sierra de Baragua to the northeast. The terrain of the ecoregion is flat and gives way to transitional moist forests higher in the mountains. Elevations are 0 to 500 metres (0 to 1,640ft) above sea level. Several rivers flow from the surrounding mountains through the ecoregion to Lake Maracaibo. They include the Palmar, Negro, Lora and Catatumbo rivers from the Serranía del Perijá, the Escalante River from the Venezuelan Andes and the Motatán, Misoa and Pachango rivers in the east of the basin.[2]
Climate
Annual temperatures are from 16 to 26°C (61 to 79°F). Less than 1,000 millimetres (39in) of rain falls annually, with pronounced dry and wet seasons.[2] At a sample location at coordinates 10°15′N71°15′W / 10.25°N 71.25°W / 10.25; -71.25 the Köppen climate classification is "Aw": equatorial, winter dry.[4] At this location the temperature is fairly constant throughout the year, ranging from an average mean of 27°C (81°F) in January to 28.5°C (83.3°F) in August. Total yearly rainfall is around 840 millimetres (33in). Rainfall varies from 5.3 millimetres (0.21in) in January to 113.2 millimetres (4.46in) in May, drops to 68 millimetres (2.7in) in July then rises again to 166.1 millimetres (6.54in) in October.[4]
The World Wildlife Fund gives the ecoregion the status of "Critical/Endangered". As with other neotropical dry forests the habitat has been severely damaged by livestock and agriculture and is at risk of complete destruction. The ecoregion is cut up by a large network of roads, including the Pan-American Highway. It contains the Bolivar Coastal Field on the northeastern shore of the lake. The oil fields in and around the lake produce most of Venezuela's oil. Some of the rivers are polluted with pesticides and fertilizers[2]
WildFinder, WWF: World Wildlife Fund, retrieved 2017-04-17
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