The Ucayali moist forests (NT0174) is an ecoregion in the western Amazon rainforest of Peru.

Geography

Location

The Ucayali moist forest ecoregion is to the east of the Andes mountains in Peru. It is bounded to the east by the

Ucayali River The Ucayali River ( es, Río Ucayali, ) is the main headstream of the Amazon River. It rises about north of Lake Titicaca, in the Arequipa region of Peru and becomes the Amazon at the confluence of the Marañón close to Nauta city. The city of ...

, a major tributary of the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

. To the north it is bounded by the

Marañón River , name_etymology = , image = Maranon.jpg , image_size = 270 , image_caption = Valley of the Marañón between Chachapoyas ( Leimebamba) and Celendín , map = Maranonrivermap.png , map_size ...

. In the extreme northwest the Ucayali moist forests transition into the

Eastern Cordillera Real montane forests Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air ...

. Across the

valley they transition into the

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. T ...

, then along most of their western and southern boundary they transition into the

Peruvian Yungas The Peruvian Yungas is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Yungas of Peru. Setting The Peruvian Yungas occur on the eastern slopes and valleys of the Peruvian Andes. They form a transition zone between the Southwes ...

. To the east they are separated from the

Southwest Amazon moist forests The Southwest Amazon moist forests (NT0166) is an ecoregion located in the Upper Amazon basin. The forest is characterized by a relatively flat landscape with alluvial plains dissected by undulating hills or high terraces. The biota of the so ...

by a belt of

Iquitos várzea The Iquitos várzea (NT0128) is an ecoregion of flooded forest along rivers in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia in the west of the Amazon biome. The forest is seasonally flooded up to by whitewater rivers carrying nutrient-rich sediment from the Andes. T ...

along the

, and to the north they are separated from the

Napo moist forests The Napo moist forests (NT0142) is an ecoregion in the western Amazon rainforest of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Geography Location The Napo moist forests ecoregion covers part of the Amazon basin to the east of the Andes in the north of Peru, ...

by a belt of Iquitos varzea along the Marañón River.

Terrain

The sub-Andean terrain is generally flat, but is divided by the Cordillera Oriental, highlands that run along the length of the ecoregion. Elevations are above sea level. Many rivers and streams flow from the mountains to the west into the upper Amazon basin.

Climate

Annual rainfall is . At a sample location at 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, notabl ...

is "Af": equatorial, fully humid. Mean temperatures range from in July to in November. Yearly total rainfall is about . Monthly rainfall ranges from in August to in March.

Ecology

The 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 bioge ...

, in 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, discont ...

biome.

Flora

Forests are transitional between wet lowland rainforest to the east and premontane moist forests higher up. The ecoregion has diverse flora, with many species of palm. Tropical hardwood species include

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

, tropical cedar and kapok.

Fauna

188 species of mammals have been recorded. There are over 600 species of birds. There are also large populations of many species of invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles. Endangered mammals include

white-bellied spider monkey The white-bellied spider monkey (''Ateles belzebuth''), also known as the white-fronted or long-haired spider monkey, is an Endangered species, endangered species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey. It is found in the north-western Amaz ...

(''Ateles belzebuth''),

Peruvian spider monkey The Peruvian spider monkey (''Ateles chamek''), also known as the black-faced black spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey that lives in Peru, as well as in Brazil and in Bolivia. At long, they are relatively large among species of monkey, ...

(''Ateles chamek''),

Rio Mayo titi The Rio Mayo titi monkey (''Plecturocebus oenanthe'') is a species of titi monkey, a type of New World monkey, endemic to Peru. The Rio Mayo titi, was thought previously to have a small range of origin in the Alto Mayo valley, but research has p ...

(''Callicebus oenanthe'') 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''). Endangered amphibians include Silverstone's poison frog (''Ameerega silverstonei'') and Johnson's horned treefrog ('' Hemiphractus johnsoni'').

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 Wo ...

gives the ecoregion the status of "Vulnerable". The

Cordillera Azul National Park Cordillera Azul National Park () is a protected area in Peru. It protects part of the Ucayali moist forests ecoregion. History In 1963, the Biavo-Cordillera Azul National Forest was established, spanning 2,178,000 hectares. In 1997, this area ...

protects part of the ecoregion.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ucayali moist forests Ecoregions of Peru Neotropical tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests