| Peruvian Yungas | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Ecoregion territory (in purple) | |
| Ecology | |
| Biome | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest |
| Borders | |
| Geography | |
| Area | 186,700 km2 (72,100 sq mi) |
| Country | Peru |
The Peruvian Yungas comprise a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in Peru. [1]
The Yungas are found on the eastern slopes and valleys of the Peruvian Andes. They form a transition zone between the Southwest Amazon moist forests and Ucayali moist forests at lower elevations to the east and the Central Andean puna and wet puna at higher elevations to the west. [1]
The climate in this ecoregion varies from a tropical rainforest climate in the north to a subtropical highland climate in the south. Precipitation ranges from 500 to 2,000 millimeters (19.7 to 78.7 in) per year. [1]
This ecoregion contains over 3,000 species of plants, including 200 species of orchids. Orchid genera include Epidendrum and Maxillaria . Tree ferns ( Cyathea ) and bamboo ( Chusquea ) are common. Below 2,700 metres (8,900 ft), the forest includes species such as cedar ( Cedrela ), trumpet tree ( Tabebuia ), and relatives of papaya ( Carica ). Above 3,500 metres (11,500 ft), there are scrublands and wet rocky thickets with shrubs and land orchids as well as forests of Podocarpus conifers. [1]
This ecoregion contains over 200 species of vertebrates. The gallito de las rocas ( Rupicola peruviana ) is endemic. [1]
Notable mammals include the shrew opossums ( Caenolestes ) and Kalinowski's Agouti ( Dasyprocta kalinowskii ), as well as the northern pudú ( Pudu mephistophiles ) and the hairy long-nosed armadillo ( Dasypus pilosus ). [1]
Notable species with limited distributions found here include the horned curassow ( Pauxi unicornis ), hummingbirds ( Metallura theresiae , Heliangelus regalis ), the long-whiskered owlet ( Xenoglaux loweryi ) and the Marañón poison frog ( Dendrobates mysteriosus ). [1]
Endangered and threatened species include the yellow-tailed woolly monkey ( Oreonax flavicauda ), jaguar ( Panthera onca ), ocelot ( Leopardus pardalis ), spectacled bear ( Tremarctos ornatus ), neotropical otter ( Lontra longicaudis ), colocolo ( Oncifelis colocolo ), Andean cock-of-the-rock ( Rupicola peruviana ) and cinchona ( Cinchona sp.). [1]
This ecoregions also has endemic species of butterflies from the genera Dismopha , Callithea , Paridos , and Morpho . [1]
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.
The Meghalaya subtropical forests is an ecoregion of Northeast India. The ecoregion covers an area of 41,700 square kilometers (16,100 sq mi), and despite its name, comprise not only the state of Meghalaya, but also parts of southern Assam, and a tiny bit of Nagaland around Dimapur and adjacent Bangladesh. It also contains many other habitats than subtropical forests, but the montane subtropical forests found in Meghalaya is an important biome, and was once much more widespread in the region, and for these reasons chosen as the most suitable name. The scientific designation is IM0126.
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.
The Alto Mayo Protection Forest is an area of protected forest land in northern Peru. It is located in Rioja and Moyobamba provinces within the region of San Martin, with a small part in Rodriguez de Mendoza province, in the region of Amazonas. This area preserves a portion of the tropical yungas forest in the upper Mayo River basin, while protecting soil and water from erosion by deforestation, as the area is the water supply of populations in the Mayo valley.
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 Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests is a subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion which occupies the lower hillsides of the mountainous border region joining India, Bangladesh, and Burma (Myanmar). The ecoregion covers an area of 135,600 square kilometres (52,400 sq mi). Located where the biotas of the Indian Subcontinent and Indochina meet, and in the transition between subtropical and tropical regions of Asia, the Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests are home to great biodiversity. The WWF rates the ecoregion as "Globally Outstanding" in biological distinctiveness.
The Southern Andean Yungas is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Yungas of southwestern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina.
The Bolivian Yungas is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Yungas of central Bolivia.
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 Tumbes–Piura dry forests (NT0232) is an arid tropical ecoregion along the Pacific coasts of southern Ecuador and northern Peru. The ecoregion contains many endemic species of flora and birds adapted to the short wet season followed by a long dry season. Threats include extraction of wood for fuel or furniture, and capture of wild birds for sale.
The Marañón dry forests (NT0223) is an ecoregion in northern Peru. It covers the lower valley of the Marañón River and its tributaries along the eastern edge of the Andes. It has a dry climate due to rain shadow from mountains further east. The habitat has long been modified by farming, ranching and logging and is now threatened by construction of hydroelectric and irrigation dams.
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 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.
The Magdalena Valley montane forests (NT0136) is an ecoregion in the Andes mountains of central Colombia.