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Ecuadorian Dry Forests
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. Location The Ecuadorian dry forests have an area of . The ecoregion is mainly along the Pacific coast of central Ecuador to the north and west of Guayaquil, with a section to the east of Guayaquil. The western area is in the Cordillera de la Costa (Coastal Range) mountains. The western portion is bounded to the east by Western Ecuador moist forests. It adjoins South American Pacific mangroves along sections of the coast. The eastern portion is also bounded to the east by Western Ecuador moist forests, but to the west is bounded by Guayaquil flooded grasslands. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machalilla National Park
Machalilla National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Machalilla) is a preserve in the Ecuadorian Manabí Province near Puerto López and the rural parish of Machalilla, a small fishing village in the vicinity of the park. Established in 1979, Machalilla National Park near Puerto Lopéz rests along the Pacific coast. It incorporates beaches, fog forest, dry forest, small islands and two larger islands, Salango and Isla de la Plata, the latter named for a legendary hoard of silver left by Sir Francis Drake.Smith, JulianMachalilla National Park and Vicinity. May 1998. Accessed August 2, 2007. In 1990 the park was named an internationally important wetland under the Ramsar Convention. Wildlife includes armadillos, two species of monkeys and birds of more than 270 species.Dry Tropical Forests of Ecuador . A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tumbes–Piura Dry Forests
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. Location The Tumbes–Piura dry forests ecoregion has an area of . The northern tip is in the southern coastal plain of Ecuador, while most of the ecoregion is in the northwestern coastal plain of Peru. It covers all or part of the regions of Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque and Cajamarca in northern Peru. Further north the similar Ecuadorian dry forests extend along the coast of central Ecuador. The Andes rise to the east. The northern tip of the ecoregion adjoins the Guayaquil flooded grasslands. In the north it is bounded to the west by a stretch of South American Pacific mangroves and to the east by Northwestern Andean montane fore ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceiba
''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, largely branchless trunk that culminates in a huge, spreading canopy, and buttress roots that can be taller than a grown person. The best-known, and most widely cultivated, species is Kapok, ''Ceiba pentandra'', one of several trees called kapok. ''Ceiba'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species, including the leaf-miner ''Bucculatrix ceibae'', which feeds exclusively on the genus. Recent botanical opinion incorporates ''Chorisia'' within ''Ceiba'' and puts the genus as a whole within the family Malvaceae. Culture and history The tree plays an important part in the mythologies of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures. In addition, several Amazonian tribes of eastern Peru believe deiti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kapok Tree
Kapok tree can refer to several plants Malvales with one exception with seeds that grow long hairs: *''Bombax ceiba'', an Asian tree with red flowers *''Calotropis procera'' (Asterid), a shrub with white and purple flowers, native to Asia and North Africa, but a weed in other places *''Ceiba pentandra'', a tree of the tropical Americas with white flowers, cultivated particularly in south-east Asia for its seed fibre *Two trees with yellow flowers native to northern Australia and Papua New Guinea **''Cochlospermum gillivraei ''Cochlospermum gillivraei'' is a tree in the family Bixaceae, with the common name kapok. It is native to Northern Australia. References gillivraei {{rosid-tree-stub ...'' **'' Cochlospermum fraseri'' {{Plant common name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceiba Trichastandra
''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, largely branchless trunk that culminates in a huge, spreading canopy, and buttress roots that can be taller than a grown person. The best-known, and most widely cultivated, species is Kapok, ''Ceiba pentandra'', one of several trees called kapok. ''Ceiba'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species, including the leaf-miner ''Bucculatrix ceibae'', which feeds exclusively on the genus. Recent botanical opinion incorporates ''Chorisia'' within ''Ceiba'' and puts the genus as a whole within the family Malvaceae. Culture and history The tree plays an important part in the mythologies of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures. In addition, several Amazonian tribes of eastern Peru believe de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bosque Semiárido
A bosque ( ) is a type of gallery forest habitat found along the riparian flood plains of stream and river banks in the southwestern United States. It derives its name from the Spanish word for 'woodlands'. Setting In the predominantly arid or semi-arid southwestern United States, a bosque is an oasis-like ribbon of green vegetation, often canopied, that only exists near rivers, streams, or other water courses. The most notable bosque is the -long ecosystem along the valley of the middle Rio Grande in New Mexico that extends from Santa Fe south to El Paso, Texas. One of the most famous and ecologically intact sections of the bosque is included in the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Flora and fauna Common trees in the bosque habitat include mesquite, cottonwood, desert willow, and desert olive. Because there is often only a single canopy layer and because the tree species found in the bosque are generally deciduous, a wide variety of shrubs, grasses, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marañón Dry Forests
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. Location The Marañón dry forests ecoregion in northwestern Peru has an area of . It extends along the upper valley of the Marañón River and its tributaries. To the north the ecoregion adjoins the Eastern Cordillera Real montane forests. The northern part of the ecoregion extends from the Tumbes–Piura dry forests in the west to the Ucayali moist forests in the east. The ecoregion extends to the southeast through the Peruvian Yungas and patches of the Cordillera Central páramo. Physical The Marañón River rises on the Nevado de Yapura glacier, and runs northwest through northern Peru between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cauca Valley Dry Forests
The Cauca Valley dry forests is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in Colombia. Location The Cauca Valley dry forests occupies an area of , extending in a long, narrow strip along the Cauca River. The Cauca Valley is nestled between the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central in the northern Andes. These ranges create a rain shadow, which makes the Cauca Valley drier than the surrounding forests. The Cauca Valley dry forests lie below 1000 meters elevation; the higher slopes are occupied by the distinct Cauca Valley montane forests. Most of these forests have been cleared for agriculture over the years making it one of the most critically endangered ecoregions in Colombia. Laguna de Sonso Nature Reserve has a small area of protected forest. Ecology The ecoregion is part of the Tumbesian-Andean Valleys Dry Forests global ecoregion, which holds six terrestrial ecoregions: Tumbes–Piura dry forests, Ecuadorian dry forests, Patía Valley dry forests, Magdalena ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magdalena Valley Dry Forests
The Magdalena Valley dry forests (NT0221) is an ecoregion in Colombia along the upper Magdalena River, a large river that runs from south to north between the two main ''cordilleras'' of the Andes. There are many endemic species, but much of the original habitat has been destroyed by agriculture and over-grazing, mainly by goats. The habitat is not protected by any national park, and is at risk of complete destruction. Location The Magdalena Valley dry forests ecoregion is in the valley of the upper Magdalena River, a river that flows north through the Andes to the Caribbean. It has an area of . The Magdalena River is the largest in Colombia. The dry forests are almost entirely surrounded by the Magdalena Valley montane forests ecoregion. At its northern end the dry valley merges into the Magdalena–Urabá moist forests. It holds a small patch of the Northern Andean páramo ecoregion. Terrain The Magdalena River runs from the Central Massif between the Eastern and Central Ran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patía Valley Dry Forests
The Patía Valley dry forests (NT0225) is an ecoregion in southwestern Colombia. It covers a dry valley surrounded by mountains. The original habitat has mostly been destroyed by human activity, although a few pockets remain. Location The Patía Valley is in southwestern Colombia along the Patía River and its tributaries, surrounded by ranges of the Andes. It has an area of . It is almost completely surrounded by the Northwestern Andean montane forests ecoregion. The western extension downstream along the Patía River merges into the Chocó–Darién moist forests ecoregion.. Physical The Patía river flows westward from the Central massif of Colombia, cuts through the Western Cordillera and drains into the Pacific Ocean. In its upper section it runs through cloud forests and montane forests. The central section of the river forms the Patía dry valley. The lower section to the west of the Western Cordillera flows through the Chocó jungles of the Pacific region. The Patía is f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biodiversity Hotspot
A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the concept was revised following thorough analysis by Myers and others into “Hotspots: Earth’s Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions” and a paper published in the journal ''Nature'', both in 2000. To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot on Myers' 2000 edition of the hotspot map, a region must meet two strict criteria: it must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (more than 0.5% of the world's total) as endemics, and it has to have lost at least 70% of its primary vegetation. Globally, 36 zones qualify under this definition. These sites support nearly 60% of the world's plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species, with a high share of those species as endemics. Some of these hotspots support up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tumbes–Chocó–Magdalena
Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena is a biodiversity hotspot, which includes the tropical moist forests and tropical dry forests of the Pacific coast of South America and the Galapagos Islands. The region extends from easternmost Panama to the lower Magdalena Valley of Colombia, and along the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador to the northwestern corner of Peru. Formerly called the Chocó-Darién-Western Ecuador Hotspot, it has been expanded to include several new areas, notably the Magdalena Valley in northern Colombia. It is bounded on the east by the Andes Mountains. The Tumbes-Choco-Magdalena Hotspot is 1,500 km long and encircles 274,597 km². Tumbes-Choco-Magdalena is near the Pacific Ocean. The factors that threaten Tumbes-Choco-Magdalena are farming encroachment, deforestation, illegal crops, and population growth. Whereas the Panamanian and Colombian portion of the hotspot are relatively intact, approximately 98% of native forest in coastal Ecuador has been cleared, re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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