Talamancan montane forests

Talamancan montane forests
Forests around the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica
Ecology
Biome	Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Geography
Area	16,300 km2 (6,300 sq mi)
Countries	Costa Rica and Panama
Conservation
Conservation status	Relatively Stable/Intact
Protected	40%

The Talamancan montane forests ecoregion, in the tropical moist broadleaf forest biome, are in montane Costa Rica and Panama in Central America.

The Talamancan montane forests cover a discontinuous area of 16,300 square kilometers (6,300 sq mi) in Cordilleran mountains, including the Cordillera de Guanacaste, Cordillera de Tilarán, Cordillera Central, and Cordillera de Talamanca, from northwestern Costa Rica to western Panama, with outliers on the Azuero Peninsula. The montane forests lie above 750 to 1500 meters elevation, up to approximately 3000 meters elevation, where they transition to the grasslands and shrublands of the Costa Rican Páramo on the highest peaks.

The montane forests are surrounded at lower elevations by lowland forests, including the Isthmian-Atlantic moist forests on the Atlantic (Caribbean) slope, the Isthmian-Pacific moist forests to the south on the Pacific slope, and the Costa Rican seasonal moist forests to the northwest.

The forests are made up of evergreen trees, including many species (genera Ocotea, Persea, Nectandra, and Phoebe) of the Laurel family (Lauraceae), and two endemic oaks, Quercus costaricensis and Quercus copeyensis.