Puerto Rican dry forests
The Puerto Rican dry forests are a subtropical dry forest ecoregion located in southwestern and eastern Puerto Rico and on the offshore islands. They cover an area of 1,300 km2 (500 sq mi). These forests grow in areas receiving less than 1,000 mm (39 in) of rain annually. Many of the trees are deciduous, losing their leaves during the dry season which normally lasts from December to July.
Dry forests exist in two areas on the island of Puerto Rico - along the south coast of the island (in the dry orographic rain shadow of the Cordillera Central) and in the northeastern corner of the island near Fajardo, where the combination of low elevation and strong winds off the ocean (Northeast Trade Winds) result in a dry environment. Dry forests also exist on the adjacent off-shore islands of Vieques, Culebra, Mona, Monito, Desecheo, Caja de Muertos and Cayo Santiago.
The vast majority of studies have focused on the south coast - almost nothing has been published about the northeastern dry forest. Studies of the offshore islands have been limited to species lists and qualitative descriptions of the vegetation.
Puerto Rican dry forests (like Caribbean dry forests in general) consist of short-stature (usually <5 m or 16 ft tall), multi-stemmed trees. The canopy is largely evergreen (dominated by Gymnanthes lucida (Euphorbiaceae) in areas of limestone soil), while the emergent layer is considerably more dry-season deciduous.Guaiacum officinale, Coccoloba venosa, Ceiba pentandra, and Capparis cynophallophora are common trees in coastal dry forests. Dry limestone forest species include Pisonia albida, Guaiacum sanctum, and Plumeria alba.
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