The Belizean pine forests is an

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

that represents an example of

lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

and premontane

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s in the

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropics, tropical Ecoregion#Terrestrial, terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperat ...

, where the dominant tree species is Caribbean pine. The vegetation here is generally adapted to the

xeric Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (Ancient Greek 'dry') shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this habita ...

acid An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...

ic and

nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

-poor conditions along the

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

an near coastal zone of the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

versant.

Location and description

The ecoregion is almost entirely located in Belize, with a few very small tracts in Mexico and Guatemala. The ecoregion is spread across several small, disconnected sites. The inland sites are in the center and north and on plains and lowland terrain. The coastal, southern sites are more fragmented.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is ''

Tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

(Am)). This climate is characterized by relatively even temperatures throughout the year (all months being greater than average temperature), and a pronounced dry season. The driest month has less than 60 mm of precipitation, but more than (100-(average/25) mm. This climate is mid-way between a tropical rainforest and a tropical savannah. Precipitation averages 2,000 mm/year.

Flora and fauna

The characteristic tree species of the ecoregion is the Caribbean pine ('' Pinus caribaea''). 62% of the small ecoregion is wet tropical forest (closed and open), 25% is herbaceous wetland, 5% is shrub, and the small remainder is cultivated agricultural land. In addition to the Caribbean pine, there are lesser stands of Calabash tree (''

Crescentia cujete ''Crescentia cujete'', commonly known as the calabash tree, is a species of flowering plant a medium size tree in the trumpet vine family Bignoniaceae native to the Americas, and which is grown in Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America, So ...

''), oak (''

Quercus An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

''), Wild cashew tree ('' Curatella americana''), Changunga ('' Byrsonima crassifolia''), and the Paurotis palm ('' Acoelorraphe''). Tree density tends to be affected by the frequency and severity of wildfires, as the Caribbean pine benefits from periodic low-intensity fires for regeneration. There are also areas of savanna with low shrubs, grasses, and reeds.

Protected areas

Over 31% of the region is in an officially protected area, including: * Chiquibul National Park, the largest national park in Belize

References

* E. Dinerstein, D.M. Olson, et al. 1995. A Conservation Assessment of the Terrestrial Ecoregions of Latin America and the Caribbean. The World Bank in association with WWF, Washington, D.C. {{ISBN, 0821332961 * C. Michael Hogan & World Wildlife Fund. 2012
Belizean pine forests. ed. M. McGinley. Encyclopedia of Earth. Washington DC
Forests of Belize Neotropical ecoregions Ecoregions of Belize Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests