Hispaniolan moist forests


The Hispaniolan moist forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion on the island of Hispaniola. They cover, around 60% of the island's area.

Geography

Moist forests occur on most of the eastern half the Dominican Republic, stretching from the coast all the way to high elevations in the mountains. In Haiti, they are found in the Tiburon Peninsula in the southern part of the country as well as the Massif du Nord. The drainage basins for the island's main rivers, the Yaque del Norte and Yaque del Sur, Yuna, and Artibonite, occur in this ecoregion. The forests cover diverse topography, including flatlands, valleys, plateaus, slopes and foothills up to an altitude of about. Soils are either calcareous or acidic.

Climate

Mesic forests receive of annual rainfall, while more than falls in wet forests. The rainy season lasts from April to December. Temperature varies from in open areas near the coast and averages around in higher areas. Freezing temperatures occur in the highest zones at certain times of the year.

Flora

Moist forests are classified as being either lowland mesic, montane mesic, lowland wet, or montane wet. Characteristic lowland species are Haitian catalpa, particularly in well-drained soils, and West Indian mahogany. Puerto Rican royal palm is common where soil is calcareous. Paradise tree, anón de majagua, jagua, black olive, West Indian lancewood and amacey are found in small secondary stands. Isolated trees are home to fustic, logwood, iris, caracolí, córbano, West Indian elm, palo de leche, and spiny fiddlewood. Areas where soils are superficial or savannas have formed from degraded forest are indicated by trees such as the sandpaper tree, grandleaf seagrape, Jamaican nettletree and Tabebuia species. Cashews are present in zones that have marginal earth and precipitation closer to that of the dry forests. Yellow olivier, sablito, maricao aguacatillo, West Indian cherry, árbol de Santa Maria, cocuyo, American muskwood, palo de yagua, locust, balatá and sierra palm grow in mesic forests. Hispaniolan pine is common on lateritic soils. Wet forests consist of trees covered by parasitic plants and epiphytes. The principal indicator species include tree ferns and Chionanthus species. At higher elevations, characteristic species are the trembling schefflera, black sapote, almendrón, Fadyen's silktassel, Weinmannia pinnata, Oreopanax capitatus, Brunellia comocladifolia, Hispaniolan pines, and Cyathea species.

Fauna

Birds of the moist forests include the Hispaniolan amazon, Hispaniolan parakeet, Hispaniolan lizard cuckoo, palm crow, American kestrel, vervain hummingbird, narrow-billed tody, stolid flycatcher, Hispaniolan pewee, rufous-throated solitaire, Hispaniolan woodpecker, white-necked crow, palmchat, Hispaniolan trogon, ruddy quail-dove, red-tailed hawk, white-winged warbler, green-tailed warbler, Antillean siskin , La Selle thrush, eastern chat-tanager, and Hispaniolan crossbill. Native mammals include the Hispaniolan hutia, Hispaniolan solenodon, and 18 bat species such as the Cuban flower bat.