The Guayanan Highlands moist forests (NT0124) is an

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 o ...

in the south of Venezuela and the north of Brazil and in Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana. It is in the

Amazon biome The Amazon biome ( pt, Bioma Amazônia) contains the Amazon rainforest, an area of tropical rainforest, and other ecoregions that cover most of the Amazon basin and some adjacent areas to the north and east. The biome contains blackwater and whit ...

. It encompasses an upland region with diverse fauna and flora, which contains dramatic tepuis, or sandstone table mountains. The region has been inaccessible in the past and is generally fairly intact, apart from the north and northeast where large scale agriculture, ranching and mining operations are steadily encroaching on the ecosystem. New roads are opening the interior to logging, and planned dams will have a drastic impact on the

riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ...

Location

The ecoregion includes parts of southern Venezuela, western and southern Guyana and northern Brazil, with scattered portions in Suriname and French Guiana. It extends into eastern Colombia. It has a total area of . The ecoregion lies on the

Guiana Shield The Guiana Shield (french: Plateau des Guyanes, Bouclier guyanais; nl, Hoogland van Guyana, Guianaschild; pt, Planalto das Guianas, Escudo das Guianas; es, Escudo guayanés) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a ...

, an ancient upland area between the Amazon and Orinoco basins. It is surrounded by lowland grassy savannas and lowland forest. All areas of the ecoregion contains enclaves of the

Pantepuis A tepui , or tepuy (), is a table-top mountain or mesa found in South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sa ...

ecoregion on the tops of table mountains. Most areas of the ecoregion in the east are surrounded by the Guianan moist forests ecoregion, and most areas in the west are surrounded by the

Guianan piedmont and lowland moist forests The Guianan piedmont and lowland moist forests (NT0182) is an ecoregion in the south of Venezuela and the north of Brazil. It is in the Amazon biome. The ecoregion is relatively intact, largely protected by conservation units or indigenous territor ...

ecoregion. Sections of the ecoregion in the east border the Uatuma-Trombetas moist forests to the south. The central part of the ecoregion surrounds the northern part of the largest section of the Guianan savanna ecoregion The southwestern part of the ecoregion rises above the Negro-Branco moist forests ecoregion. The Guayanan Highlands moist forests and the Tepuis together make up the Guayanan Highlands Forests Global 200 ecoregion.

Physical

The terrain is rugged, with elevations in the ecoregion from above sea level. Taller table mountains in the region rise to elevations of and host the Tepui ecoregion. The Guayanan Highlands ecoregion is an "island" of higher land surrounded by lower grasslands and forests collectively known as the

. Most of the land drains into the

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wo ...

through the Ventuari, Caroní,

Paragua ''Marihuana prensada'' or ''cannabis prensado'' (pressed cannabis or marijuana), also known as ''ladrillo'' (brick weed) or, colloquially, ''paragua'' or ''paraguayo'' is a compressed cannabis cut into blocks that facilitate transport. The larges ...

and Caura rivers in Venezuela. In the south, it is drained by the

Uraricoera The Uraricoera River (Uraricuera) is a river of Roraima state in northern Brazil. The confluence of the Uraricoera and Takutu Rivers forms the Branco River. Basin The river drains the Guayanan Highlands moist forests ecoregion. Part of the river' ...

and Branco rivers in Brazil into the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

. The upland terraces and mountains consist mainly of quartzitic or sandstone rocks, with granitic rock in some areas. The lowland plains are recent, formerly flooded by lakes or by the sea. Most of the landscape is forest-covered rolling peneplains and

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

s. The undulating peneplains between the Caura and Paragua rivers hold low hills up to high. There are scattered upland areas of undulating plains, rounded hills, low mountains and Tepuis up to high, and the lower slopes of the higher tepuis. Soils are mostly sandy and low in nutrients.

Ecology

The Guianan Highlands moist forests ecoregion is in the

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bi ...

and the

tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, disco ...

biome.

Climate

The

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

is "Am": equatorial, monsoonal. Temperatures vary little throughout the year. Yearly average temperatures range from a minimum of to a maximum of , with a mean of . Annual rainfall varies considerably, but in some areas averages . Monthly rainfall is lowest in January at and highest in July at .

Flora

There are various habitats including large areas of tall primary rainforest, open savannas and gallery forests. The peneplains hold evergreen forests with dense canopies of with emergent trees in the Calophyllum, Anacardium,

Manilkara ''Manilkara'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae. They are widespread in tropical and semitropical locations, in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, as well as various islands in the Pacific and in the Caribbea ...

, Protium,

Inga ''Inga'' is a genus of small tropical, tough-leaved, nitrogen-fixing treesElkan, Daniel. "Slash-and-burn farming has become a major threat to the world's rainforest" ''The Guardian'' 21 April 2004 and shrubs, subfamily Mimosoideae. ''Inga''s ...

Parkia ''Parkia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. Several species are known as African locust bean. In 1995, about 31 species were known.Melissa Luckow a ...

, Copaifera,

Erythrina ''Erythrina'' is a genus of plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 130 species, which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They are trees, with the larger species growing up to in height. The generic ...

and Dipteryx genera. Common trees on the plains include ''

Micropholis melinoniana ''Micropholis'' is group of trees in the family Sapotaceae, described as a genus in 1891. (2001): World Checklist of Sapotaceae &ndash''Micropholis'' The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2008-DEC-24. These trees ar ...

'',

Dacryodes ''Dacryodes'' is a genus of about 60 species of trees in the family Burseraceae. The generic name is from the Greek ' meaning "tear(drop)", referring to how resin droplets form on the bark surface. Description ''Dacryodes'' species grow as sh ...

species, ''

Euterpe precatoria ''Euterpe precatoria'' is a tall, slender-stemmed, pinnate-leaved palm native to Central and South America and Trinidad and Tobago. ''E. precatoria'' is used commercially to produce fruits, although ''Euterpe oleracea'' is more commonly culti ...

'' and '' Quassia cedron''. There are fewer emergent trees in the hilly areas, where tree species include ''

Newtonia suaveolens Newtonia could refer to: * Newtonia, Cheshire, England * Newtonia, Missouri, a town in Missouri, USA * '' Newtonia (bird)'', a genus of vangas, passerine birds endemic to Madagascar * '' Newtonia (plant)'', a genus of flowering plants in the famil ...

'', '' Couratari guanensis'', Alexa species, ''

'' and ''

Micrandra minor ''Micrandra'' is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae first described in 1854. It is native to South America. Species Species currently included in ''Micrandra'': # ''Micrandra australis'' (R.E.Schult.) R.E.Schult. - Amazonas in B ...

''. The seasonally flooded forests along the rivers have similar formations of flora to the Amazon region. Common tree species on the upper Orinoco include '' Combretum frangulifolium'', '' Gustavia augusta'',

Pterocarpus ''Pterocarpus'' is a pantropical genus of trees in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Pterocarpus'' clade within the Dalbergieae. Most species of ''Pterocarp ...

species, ''

Etaballia dubia ''Etaballia dubia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae native to northern South America. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organi ...

'', '' Albizia corymbosa'', '' Spondias mombin'', '' Mabea nitida'', '' Eschweilera tenuifolia'', '' Astrocaryum aculeatum'' and

species. Floodplain trees include '' Caryocar microcarpum'', '' Caraipa densifolia'', '' Macrolobium acaciaefolium'', '' Abuta grandfolia'' and '' Panopsis rubescens''.

Fauna

209 species of mammals have been recorded, including

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the thi ...

(''Panthera onca''),

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...

(''Puma concolor''),

South American tapir The South American tapir (''Tapirus terrestris''), also commonly called the Brazilian tapir (from the Tupi ''tapi'ira''), the Amazonian tapir, the maned tapir, the lowland tapir, the ''anta'' ( Portuguese), and ''la sachavaca'' (literally "bushc ...

(''Tapirus terrestris''),

white-lipped peccary The white-lipped peccary (''Tayassu pecari'') is a species of peccary found in Central and South America and the only member of the genus ''Tayassu''. Multiple subspecies have been identified. White-lipped peccaries are similar in appearance ...

(''Tayassu pecari''),

collared peccary The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus ''Dicotyles''. They are commonly referred to a ...

(''Pecari tajacu''),

brocket deer Brockets or brocket deer are the species of deer in the genus ''Mazama''. They are medium to small in size, and are found in the Yucatán Peninsula, Central and South America, and the island of Trinidad. Most species are primarily found in forest ...

(Mazama genus),

white-eared opossum The white-eared opossum (''Didelphis albiventris''), known as the timbu in Brazil and comadreja overa in Argentina, is an opossum species found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It is a terrestrial and, sometimes, arbo ...

(''Didelphis albiventris''),

big lutrine opossum The big lutrine opossum (''Lutreolina crassicaudata''), also known as the little water opossum, comadreja colorada, thick-tailed opossum, or coligrueso is an opossum species from South America in the genus ''Lutreolina''. Description The bi ...

(''Lutreolina crassicaudata''), Robinson's mouse opossum (''Marmosa robinsoni''), Davy's naked-backed bat (''Pteronotus davyi''), Fernandez's sword-nosed bat (''Lonchorhina fernandezi''), highland yellow-shouldered bat (''Sturnira ludovici''), eastern lowland olingo (''Bassaricyon alleni''),

fiery squirrel The fiery squirrel (''Sciurus flammifer'') is a rodent in the family Sciuridae. The taxon is endemic to the area south of the Orinoco River in the state of Bolívar, Venezuela. Taxonomy In 2015 de Vivo & Carmignotto reduced this taxon to a subs ...

(''Sciurus flammifer''),

Guyanan spiny rat The Guyanan spiny-rat (''Proechimys hoplomyoides'') is a spiny rat species found in Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela. The species was first described by George Henry Hamilton Tate George Henry Hamilton Tate (April 30, 1894 – December 24, 195 ...

(''Proechimys hoplomyoides'') and Orinoco agouti (''Dasyprocta guamara''). Endangered mammals include

black bearded saki The black bearded saki (''Chiropotes satanas'') is a species of New World monkey, native to the Amazon rainforest of South America, specifically to an area of north-eastern Brazil. It is one of five species of bearded saki. Bearded sakis are ...

(''Chiropotes satanas''), Fernandez's sword-nosed bat (''Lonchorhina fernandezi'') and

giant otter The giant otter or giant river otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the weasel family, Mustelidae, a globally successful group of predators, reaching up to . Atypical of musteli ...

(''Pteronura brasiliensis''). Snakes include fer-de-lance ('' Bothrops asper''), palm pit-vipers ( Bothriechis genus), coral snakes ( Micrurus genus), boa constrictors ('' Boa constrictor'') and bushmasters ('' Lachesis muta''). There are many green iguanas (''Iguana iguana'') and tegus lizards ( Tupinambis genus). Endangered amphibians include the demonic poison frog (''

Minyobates steyermarki ''Minyobates steyermarki'' (formerly ''Dendrobates steyermarki'') is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae endemic to Cerro Yapacana in southern Venezuela. It is also known by the common names of demonic poison frog, demonic poison-a ...

''). 631 species of birds have been recorded, including white-cheeked pintail (''Anas bahamensis''), aplomado falcon (''Falco femoralis''),

brown-throated parakeet The brown-throated parakeet (''Eupsittula pertinax''), also known as the Prikichi, St. Thomas conure or the brown-throated conure, in aviculture, is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. Taxonomy The brown-throated parakeet was formall ...

(''Eupsittula pertinax''), pavonine cuckoo (''Dromococcyx pavoninus''), Middle American screech owl (''Megascops guatemalae''), burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), emeralds and hummingbirds in the Amazilia genus, chestnut-tipped toucanet (''Aulacorhynchus derbianus''), smoke-colored pewee (''Contopus fumigatus''), orange-crowned oriole (''Icterus auricapillus''), grey seedeater (''Sporophila intermedia''), two-banded warbler (''Myiothlypis bivittata'') and black-backed water tyrant (''Fluvicola albiventer''). Endangered birds include the yellow-bellied seedeater (''Sporophila nigricollis'').

Status

The

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

classes the ecoregion as "Relatively Stable/Intact". The interior forests have been inaccessible in the past and are generally intact, although roads are being built that open them up to logging. Logging is illegal in the state of Amazonas, Venezuela, but continues elsewhere. Legal and illegal mining for gold, diamonds, bauxite, and iron ore are a serious threat. Near urban centers in the north and northeast of the ecoregion the habitat is steadily being destroyed by large-scale agriculture, cattle ranching and mining. Planned hydroelectric dams on the Caroni and Paragua rivers would huge areas with devastating effect on the riparian habitats. Part of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

's Alto Orinoco-Casiquiare Biosphere Reserve lies in the ecoregion. Protected areas include the

El Caura Forest Reserve EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), America ...

, Imataca Forest Reserve, Kaieteur National Park, Canaima National Park, and Kanuku Mountains. The Canaima National Park protects an area of . There are other national parks, but they are not well funded. The Pico da Neblina National Park in Brazil and the Parima Tapirapecó and Serranía de la Neblina national parks in Venezuela cover in total. There are many smaller conservation units in the region, but they mainly protect the upper levels of the tepuis.

Notes

External links

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guayanan Highlands moist forests Ecoregions of Brazil Ecoregions of Guyana Ecoregions of Suriname Ecoregions of Venezuela Neotropical tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests . Amazon biome Montane forests