The Greater Negros–Panay rain forests

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 ...

(WWF ID: IM0114) covers the central

Visayan Islands The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, it ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, including the islands of

Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City o ...

Negros Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

Masbate Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate ( Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; tl, Lalawigan ng Masbate), is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate C ...

Sibuyan Sibuyan is a crescent-shaped island, the second largest in an archipelago comprising Romblon Province, Philippines. Located in the namesake Sibuyan Sea, it has an area of and has a total population of 62,815 as of 2020 census. The island has t ...

, Ticao,

Guimaras Guimaras , officially the Province of Guimaras ( hil, Kapuoran sang Guimaras; tl, Lalawigan ng Guimaras), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Jordan while its largest local government ...

Romblon Romblon ( , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa Regions of the Philippines, region. Its main islands include Tablas Island, Tablas, the large ...

, Tablas,

Siquijor Siquijor ( , ), officially the Province of Siquijor ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Siquijor; tl, Lalawigan ng Siquijor), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the municipality also named Siquijor ...

, and

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...

, but excludes

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

and

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

. During the last ice age, these were all on the same island. The lack of a land bridge to Asia during the ice age kept most Asian megafauna, including elephants and tigers, from reaching the Philippines and the Visayan Islands, which hosts many unique and endemic species with some exclusive only to an island.

Location and description

Panay, Negros and the islands around them in the Visayas occupy the central position in the Philippines. Most of the islands are rugged, with the highest point being at Mt. Kanlaon.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is ''

Tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

'' (

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, notabl ...

(Af)). This climate is characterized as hot, humid, and having at least 60 mm of precipitation every month. The islands receive precipitation averaging 2,417 mm/year, with July and August being the wettest months.

Flora and fauna

Vegetation in the ecoregion depends on distance from the coast, and elevation. Beach vegetation merges into beach forest away from the coast, featuring trees of genus ''

Casuarina ''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fami ...

'' (a tall evergreen with feather-like leaves) and ''

Barringtonia ''Barringtonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lecythidaceae first described as a genus with this name in 1775. It is native to Africa, southern Asia, Australia, and various islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The genus nam ...

''. There are also mangroves along the coast that give way to tropical lowland rain forest farther inland. These lowland forests are dominated by trees of genus ''(

Dipterocarpus '' D. retusus'' in Köhler ''Dipterocarpus'' is a genus of flowering plants and the type genus of family Dipterocarpaceae. ''Dipterocarpus'' is the third-largest and most diverse genus among the Dipterocarpaceae. The species are well known for ...

)'', but the dipterocarps are joined by ''

Pterocarpus indicus ''Pterocarpus indicus'' (commonly known as Amboyna wood, Malay padauk, Papua New Guinea rosewood, Philippine mahogany, Andaman redwood, Burmese rosewood, narra and asana in the Philippines, angsana, or Pashu padauk) is a species of ''Pterocarpus ...

'', Pandans ''

Pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names ...

'', and others. Upper hill dipterocarp forests are found from 650 meters to 1,000 meters, where the dominant trees are '' Shorea polysperma'', oaks, chestnuts, and '' elaeocarps''. Montane forests begin at about 1,000 meters featuring oaks and laurels. There are 58 species of mammals in the ecoregion, 13 of which are endemic. Large mammals of conservation interest include the Philippine spotted deer ''(

Cervus alfredi The Visayan spotted deer (''Rusa alfredi''), also known as the Visayan deer, the Philippine spotted deer or Prince Alfred's deer, is a nocturnal and endangered species of deer located primarily in the rainforests of the Visayan islands of P ...

)'', and the critically endangered Visayan warty pig ''( Sus cebifrons)''. One island in particular, the isolated, mountainous

Island contains six endemic mammal species. It also has 700 species of vascular plants, 54 of which are endemic, and 131 bird species, a high level of diversity for a small island.

Protected areas

Over 9% of the ecoregion is officially protected. These protected areas include: * Mount Guiting-Guiting Natural Park * Mount Kanlaon National Park *

Sibalom Natural Park Sibalom Natural Park is a List of protected areas of the Philippines, protected area in the Philippines on the island of Panay in the municipality of Sibalom, Antique, Sibalom, Antique (province), Antique. It was proclaimed a Protected area, natu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greater Negros-Panay rain forests Indomalayan ecoregions Ecoregions of the Philippines