Guianan Highlands moist forest

Guayanan Highlands moist forests
Cerro Maweti and Ocamo River
Ecology
Realm	Neotropical
Biome	Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Geography
Area	337,475 km2
Countries	Venezuela, Brazil, Guyana, Colombia, Suriname, French Guiana
Coordinates	4°13′37″N 64°04′05″W / 4.227°N 64.068°W / 4.227; -64.068Coordinates: 4°13′37″N 64°04′05″W / 4.227°N 64.068°W / 4.227; -64.068
Conservation
Global 200	Guayanan Highlands Forests

The Guayanan Highlands moist forests (NT0124) is an ecoregion in the south of Venezuela and the north of Brazil and in Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana. It is in the Amazon biome. It encompasses an upland region with diverse fauna and flora, which contains dramatic tepuis, or sandstone table mountains. The region has been inaccessible in the past and is generally fairly intact, apart from the north and northeast where large scale agriculture, ranching and mining operations are steadily encroaching on the ecosystem. New roads are opening the interior to logging, and planned dams will have a drastic impact on the riparian zones.

The ecoregion includes parts of southern Venezuela, western and southern Guyana and northern Brazil, with scattered portions in Suriname and French Guiana. It extends into eastern Colombia. It has a total area of 33,747,545 hectares (83,392,000 acres). The ecoregion lies on the Guiana Shield, an ancient upland area between the Amazon and Orinoco basins. It is surrounded by lowland grassy savannas and lowland forest. All areas of the ecoregion contains enclaves of the Pantepuis ecoregion on the tops of table mountains.

Most areas of the ecoregion in the east are surrounded by the Guianan moist forests ecoregion, and most areas in the west are surrounded by the Guianan piedmont and lowland moist forests ecoregion. Sections of the ecoregion in the east border the Uatuma-Trombetas moist forests to the south. The central part of the ecoregion surrounds the northern part of the largest section of the Guianan savanna ecoregion The southwestern part of the ecoregion rises above the Negro-Branco moist forests ecoregion. The Guayanan Highlands moist forests and the Tepuis together make up the Guayanan Highlands Forests Global 200 ecoregion.

The terrain is rugged, with elevations in the ecoregion from 500 to 1,500 metres (1,600 to 4,900 ft) above sea level. Taller table mountains in the region rise to elevations of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) and host the Tepui ecoregion. The Guayanan Highlands ecoregion is an "island" of higher land surrounded by lower grasslands and forests. Most of the land drains into the Orinoco through the Ventuari, Caroní, Paragua and Caura rivers in Venezuela. In the south, it is drained by the Uraricoera and Branco rivers in Brazil into the Amazon.