Cuban pine forests
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The Cuban pine forests are a tropical coniferous forest
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 ...
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 ...
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 Caribb ...
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 Isl ...
. 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 f ...
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 ...
s, pseudo-spodosols in the west, and lateritic soils. Pine trees and encino ('' Quercus sagraeana'') 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 my ...
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 a ...
,
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, ...
,
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 sp ...
, and Melastomataceae 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'', 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. I ...
s formed by deforestation have a more open canopy with an understory dominated by '' Comocladia 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 in Pinar del Río Province and on the northern half of
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 Isl ...
. 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'') dominate the canopy. Other species such include peralejo ('' Byrsonima crassifolia''), palma barrigona ('' Colpothrinax wrightii''), icaco ( ''Chrysobalanus icaco'' var. ''hellocarpus''), encino ('' Quercus sagraeana''), '' Calophyllum pinetorum'', '' 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 (whortl ...
'', '' Hyperbaena columbica'', '' Clusia rosea'', '' Copernicia'' species, yuraguano ('' Coccothrinax yuraguana''), '' Aristida'' 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 specie ...
'' 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'', an endemic succulent.


Eastern pine forests

Small patches of pine forest occur around the Sierra Cristal, Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa Mountains, and Sierra Maestra. 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'') 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 temper ...
'' 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 ...
'' spp., '' Jacaranda arborea'' and '' Eugenia pinetorum''.


Fauna

Endemic birds include the olive-capped warbler (''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 enda ...
(''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 th ...
(''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