Cambalache State Forest and Reserve (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Bosque estatal de Cambalache'', also referred to as ''Parque nacional de Cambalache'') is a nature reserve and one of the 20

state forests A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by a sovereign or federated state, or territory. Background State forests are forests that are administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign or federate ...

in the territory of

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. The Cambalache State Forest is located in the municipalities of

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

and Barceloneta in northern Puerto Rico.

History

The Cambalache State Forest was proclaimed in 1943 through a deal between the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

and the Land Authority of Puerto Rico (''Autoridad de Tierras'') as part of a research program dedicated to the ecological and geological study of the island's

Northern karst The Northern Karst Belt (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Cinturón del Carso Norteño'') is a limestone karst landscape located in the northwestern region of Puerto Rico. A karst is a topographical zone formed by the dissolution of soluble porous roc ...

. The forest was first known as the Cambalache Experimental Forest. It was proclaimed a state forest in 1973.

Description

The forest reserve protects steep

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

hills known as

mogote A mogote () is a generally isolated, steep-sided residual hill in the tropics composed of either limestone, marble, or dolomite. Mogotes are surrounded by nearly flat alluvial plains. The hills typically have a rounded, tower-like form. Overv ...

s, which are covered in patches of moist forests. The elevation ranges from above mean sea level. Average rainfall is per year, with the temperature varying from . Mogotes oriented northeast to southeast have humid northern and southwestern slopes but xeric tops. It has an area of 1,050 cuerdas (about 1,019 acres). The forest is divided into various forest units located throughout the municipalities of Arecibo (

Factor Factor (Latin, ) may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, such a factor is a resource used ...

, Garrochales, Miraflores, Sabana Hoyos and La Mano Farm) and Barceloneta (Benero and Palenque Farms).

Ecology and conservation

Flora

More than 150 trees and large shrubs have been identified in the forest. Common trees include ''

Cecropia ''Cecropia'' is a Neotropical genus consisting of 61 recognized species with a highly distinctive lineage of dioecious trees. The genus consists of pioneer trees in the more or less humid parts of the Neotropics, with the majority of the speci ...

,'' ''

Schefflera ''Schefflera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae with 13 species native to New Zealand and some Pacific islands. The genus is named in honor of , physician and botanist of Gdańsk, and later of Warsaw, who contributed plan ...

,'' and ''

Tabebuia heterophylla ''Tabebuia heterophylla'' is a species of tree native to the Caribbean, and is also cultivated elsewhere. It is also known as roble blanco, pink manjack, pink trumpet tree, white cedar, and whitewood. Description ''Tabebuia heterophylla'' grows ...

''. The endemic Puerto Rican royal palm ('' Roystonea borinquena'') and ''Palma de Sierra'' ('' Gaussia attenuata'') are also found in the forest. '' Zanthoxylum martinicense'' inhabits xeric areas. '' Eugenia biflora'' and '' Eugenia ligustrina'' are found in the forest. The hillsides and valleys are home to distinct vegetation zones. The valleys have lost most of their original vegetation and instead feature scrubby

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused Disturbance (ecology), disturbances, such as Logging, timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or ...

s and planted

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

groves.

Fauna

The forest is home to at least two endangered species: the Puerto Rican boa ( ''Epicrates inornatus'') and the red fruit bat ('' Stenoderma rufum''). Some other animals found in the forest are the Puerto Rican lizard cuckoo ('' Coccyzus vieilloti''), the Puerto Rican tody (''

Todus mexicanus The Puerto Rican tody (''Todus mexicanus''), locally known in Puerto Rican Spanish, Spanish as ''San Pedrito'' ("little Saint Peter"), is a bird Endemism in birds, endemic to the Geography of Puerto Rico, main island of Puerto Rico. In 2022, the ...

''), the green mango ('' Anthracothorax viridis''), the Puerto Rican bullfinch ('' Melopyrrha portoricensis''), the Puerto Rican oriole ('' Icterus portoricensis''), and Adelaide's warbler ('' Setophaga adelaidae''). There is also a large variety of butterfly species some of which are rare.

Recreation

Parts of the forest are open to visitors with opportunities for hiking, camping and biking. The visitors' area is located by highway PR-22.

History

Description

Ecology and conservation

Flora

Fauna

Recreation

See also

References

Further reading