The Cuban pine forests are a

tropical coniferous forest Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests are a tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. These forests are found predominantly in North and Central America and experience low levels of precipitation and moderate va ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

on the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

islands of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and

Isla de la Juventud Isla de la Juventud (; en, Isle of Youth) is the second-largest Cuban island (after Cuba's mainland) and the seventh-largest island in the West Indies (after mainland Cuba itself, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and Andros Islan ...

. They cover an area of , occurring in separate sections in eastern Cuba and western Cuba and Isla de la Juventud.

Description

Pine forests are found primarily in well-drained, nutrient-poor, acidic soils such as

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

iferous

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

s, pseudo-spodosols in the west, and

lateritic Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

soils. Pine trees and encino (''

Quercus sagraeana ''Quercus sagraeana'', the Cuban oak, is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to western Cuba in the Cuban pine forests ecoregion. It is the only oak native to the Caribbean. Nomenclature The Cuban oak was first described by Nuttall (1842) a ...

'') obtain nutrients through an

ectomycorrhizal An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobi ...

symbiosis with fungi, allowing them to attain tree size. The forests feature a dense xerophytic brushy story of mainly

Rubiaceae The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules ...

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, e ...

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

, and

Melastomataceae Melastomataceae is a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants found mostly in the tropics (two-thirds of the genera are from the New World tropics) comprising c. 175 genera and c. 5115 known species. Melastomes are annual or perennial herbs, sh ...

along with a herbaceous story of a few

epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

s, primarily from the genus ''

Tillandsia ''Tillandsia'' is a genus of around 650 species of evergreen, perennial flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae, native to the forests, mountains and deserts of northern Mexico and south-eastern United States, Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to ...

'', and lianas.

Secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

s formed by deforestation have a more open canopy with an understory dominated by ''

Comocladia ''Comocladia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. It is native to the Americas, where it is distributed in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.Atha, D. E., et al. (2011)A new species of ''Comocladia'' (Anac ...

dentata''; grasses, lianas and epiphytes are poorly represented.

Western pine forests

Western pine forests are found in the northern and southern plains surrounding the

Sierra de los Órganos Sierra de los Órganos () is a mountain range in the province of Pinar del Río, western Cuba. Along with the Sierra del Rosario, it is part of the Guaniguanico mountain range. Geography The ''Sierra'' is the western part of Guaniguanico and sp ...

Pinar del Río Province Pinar del Río is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is at the western end of the island of Cuba. Geography The Pinar del Río province is Cuba's westernmost province and contains one of Cuba's three main mountain ranges, the Cordillera de Guanig ...

and on the northern half of

. Annual precipitation is less than , with a dry season from November to April and a rainy season from May to October. The temperature ranges from , averaging , and is somewhat less at higher elevations. Pino macho ( ''Pinus caribaea'' var. ''caribaea''), which may reach heights of up to , and pino hembra (''

Pinus tropicalis ''Pinus tropicalis'', the tropical pine, is a pine tree endemic to the western highlands of the island of Cuba. See also *Cuban pine forests The Cuban pine forests are a tropical coniferous forest ecoregion on the Caribbean islands of Cuba an ...

'') dominate the

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

. Other species such include peralejo (''

Byrsonima crassifolia ''Byrsonima crassifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malpighiaceae, native to tropical America. Common names used in English include nance, maricao cimun, craboo, and golden spoon. In Jamaica it is called hogberry. It's val ...

''), palma barrigona (''

Colpothrinax wrightii ''Colpothrinax wrightii'', the palma barrigona, is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is endemic to Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country compris ...

''), icaco ( ''Chrysobalanus icaco'' var. ''hellocarpus''), encino (''

''), ''

Calophyllum pinetorum ''Calophyllum'' is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Calophyllaceae. They are mainly distributed in Asia, with some species in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, and the Pacific Islands. History Members of the genus ''Calophyllu ...

'', '' Erythroxylum minutifolium'', '' Phania cajalbanica'', ''

Vaccinium cubense ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (wh ...

'', '' Hyperbaena columbica'', ''

Clusia rosea ''Clusia rosea'', the autograph tree, copey, cupey, balsam apple, pitch-apple, and Scotch attorney, is a tropical and sub-tropical flowering plant species in the family Clusiaceae. The name '' Clusia major'' is sometimes misapplied to this specie ...

'', ''

Copernicia ''Copernicia'' is a genus of palms native to South America and the Greater Antilles. Of the known species and nothospecies ( hybrids), 22 of the 27 are endemic to Cuba. They are fan palms (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the leaves with a bare ...

'' species, yuraguano ('' Coccothrinax yuraguana''), ''

Aristida ''Aristida'' is a very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. ''Aristida'' is distinguished by having three awns (bristles) on each lemma of each floret. The genus includes about 300 species found worldwide, often in arid war ...

'' species and ''

Andropogon ''Andropogon'' ( common names: beard grass, bluestem grass, broomsedge) is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to much of Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as southern Europe and various oceanic islands. Over 100 spec ...

'' species. Ferritic soils in Pinar del Río, such as in the Cajálbana plateau, are home to ''Pinus caribaea'' var. ''caribaea'' and an understory rich in endemic species. Mixed pine forests develop over oligotrophic quartzitic yellow soils in northern Pinar del Río province and Isla de la Juventud. They feature ''Pinus caribaea'' var. ''caribaea'', ''P. tropicalis'', and, possibly, ''Quercus sagraeana''. Dry, rocky pine forests found on the southern side of the Cajálbana plateau include pines, thorny scrublands, and ''

Agave cajalbanensis ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for i ...

'', an endemic succulent.

Eastern pine forests

Small patches of pine forest occur around the

Sierra Cristal Sierra Cristal National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Sierra Cristal) is a national park in Cuba. It is located in the municipalities of Mayarí, Cuba, Mayarí and Sagua de Tánamo, Cuba, Sagua de Tánamo in southern Holguín Province. It was the fir ...

, Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa Mountains, and

Sierra Maestra The Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. The range falls mainly within the Santiago de Cuba and in Granma Provinces. Some view it a ...

. These forests are found at higher elevations than western pine forests, up to , making them cooler and wetter. Consequently, some of the vegetation resembles that of the

rainforests Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

, with an abundance of ferns. Pino de la Maestra ('' Pinus maestrensis'') predominates in the Sierra Maestra, developing on landslide areas over granitic rock, while the Pino de Mayarí (''

Pinus cubensis ''Pinus cubensis'', or Cuban pine, is a pine endemic to the eastern highlands of the island of Cuba, inhabiting both Sierra Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa, Nipe-Sierra Cristal National Park, Cristal and Sierra Maestra. The closely related Hispaniolan pine ( ...

'') predominates in the Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa. Some accompanying species in these forests are the griñapo (''

Dracaena cubensis Dracaena (romanized form of the Greek ''δράκαινα'' - ''drakaina'', "female dragon") can mean: *Drakaina (mythology), a Greek mythological entity * ''Dracaena'' (plant), a genus of plants *''Cordyline australis'', a plant commonly known as ...

''), ''

Eupatorium ''Eupatorium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, containing from 36 to 60 species depending on the classification system. Most are herbaceous perennials growing to tall. A few are shrubs. The genus is native to temperate ...

'' spp., ''

Myrtus ''Myrtus'' (commonly called myrtle) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. It was first described by Swedish botanist Linnaeus in 1753. Over 600 names have been proposed in the genus, but nearly all have either been moved ...

'' spp., ''

Baccharis ''Baccharis'' is a genus of perennials and shrubs in the aster family (Asteraceae). They are commonly known as baccharises but sometimes referred to as "brooms", because many members have small thin leaves resembling the true brooms. They are n ...

'' spp., '' Jacaranda arborea'' and '' Eugenia pinetorum''.

Fauna

Endemic birds include the

olive-capped warbler The olive-capped warbler (''Setophaga pityophila'') is a species of New World warbler that is native to the western and eastern ends of Cuba as well as Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas. Its natural habitat is pine forests and occ ...

(''Dendroica pityophila''),

Cuban kite The Cuban kite (''Chondrohierax wilsonii'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles and harriers. It is endemic to Cuba. This species is classified as critically endang ...

(''Chondrohierax wilsonii''),

Cuban trogon The Cuban trogon or tocororo (''Priotelus temnurus'') is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. It is endemic to Cuba, where it is also the national bird. Taxonomy and systematics The Cuban trogon shares its genus with the Hispaniolan ...

(''Priotelus temnurus''), Cuban amazon, (''Amazona leucocephala'') and Cuban tody (''Todus multicolor''). The

Cuban ivory-billed woodpecker The Cuban ivory-billed woodpecker ( es, carpintero real, link=no) (''Campephilus principalis bairdii'') is a subspecies of the ivory-billed woodpecker native to Cuba. Originally classified as a separate species, recent research has indicated tha ...

(''Campephilus principalis bairdii'') may remain in eastern pine forests, but is probably extinct.

References

{{reflist Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests Ecoregions of the Caribbean Ecoregions of Cuba * Natural history of Cuba Neotropical ecoregions