Apure-Villavicencio dry forests
| Apure-Villavicencio dry forests (NT0201) | |
|---|---|
Landscape within the city of Villavicencio
|
|
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Neotropical |
| Biome | Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests |
| Geography | |
| Area | 68,376 km2 (26,400 sq mi) |
| Countries | Venezuela, Colombia |
| Coordinates | 6°35′53″N 71°23′46″W / 6.598°N 71.396°WCoordinates: 6°35′53″N 71°23′46″W / 6.598°N 71.396°W |
| Climate type | Aw: equatorial, winter dry |
The Apure-Villavicencio dry forests (NT0201) is an ecoregion in Venezuela and Colombia to the east of the eastern cordillera of the Andes. The ecoregion covers the transition zone between montane forests in the Andes and the llanos, or lowland grasslands. It has been severely degraded by deforestation, farming and ranching. The remnants are poorly protected.
The Apure-Villavicencio dry forests ecoregion runs along the eastern edge of the Andes of Colombia and Venezuela from the southwest to the northeast. It has an area of 6,837,568 hectares (16,896,000 acres). It forms a broad band between the mountains and grasslands in the north that becomes narrower further south. In Venezuela it covers parts of the states of Portuguesa, Barinas, and Apure, and in Colombia it lies in the departments of Arauca, Casanare, and Meta.
Along the southeast and northern margin the dry forests ecoregion gives way to the Llanos ecoregion. To the northwest it merges into the Venezuelan Andes montane forests along the Venezuelan Andes, and the Cordillera Oriental montane forests along the Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes. In the extreme south it merges into the Caqueta moist forests.
The Apure-Villavicencio dry forests ecoregion has an elevation of 130–400 metres (430–1,310 ft) above sea level, sloping up from the plains to the base of the mountains. In the departments of Casanare and Arauca there are alluvial fans that extend to the Llanos, with heavily drained soils that are acid and infertile.
The Köppen climate classification is "Aw": equatorial, winter dry. Annual average rainfall is 135 millimetres (5.3 in). Temperatures range from 19–33 °C (66–91 °F). At a sample location at coordinates 7°15′N 70°45′W / 7.25°N 70.75°W yearly average mean temperature is just over 27 °C (81 °F). Mean monthly temperatures are fairly constant, ranging from 26 °C (79 °F) in July to 28.7 °C (83.7 °F) in March.
...
Wikipedia