Northwestern Andean montane forests

The Northwestern Andean montane forests (NT0145) is an ecoregion on the Andes mountains in the west of Colombia and Ecuador. Both flora and fauna are highly diverse due to effect of ice ages when the warmer climate zones were separated and the cooler ones combined, and interglacial periods when the reverse occurred. Because the environment is hospitable to humans, the habitat has been drastically modified by farming and grazing since the Pre-Columbian era.

Northwestern Andean montane forests (NT0145)
Caldera of Cuicocha in the Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve, Écuador
Ecoregion territory (in purple)
Ecology
RealmNeotropical
BiomeTropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Geography
Area81,325 km2 (31,400 sq mi)
CountriesColombia, Ecuador
Coordinates0.929°N 78.123°W / 0.929; -78.123
Climate typeAf: equatorial; fully humid

Geography

Location

The Northwestern Andean montane forests ecoregion extends along the Cordillera Occidental (Western Range) of the Andes in Colombia and the Cordillera Occidental of Ecuador. It covers an area of 8,132,562 hectares (20,096,000 acres).[1]

In the extreme north the ecoregion merges into the Magdalena-Urabá moist forests ecoregion. Through most of its length in Colombia it transitions on the west into the Chocó-Darién moist forests and on the east into the Cauca Valley montane forests. The higher levels of the ecoregion give way to Northern Andean páramo. In the central section it almost completely surrounds the Patía Valley dry forests. In its southern section the ecoregion transitions into the Western Ecuador moist forests to the west and the Eastern Cordillera Real montane forests to the east. The southern end of the ecoregion transitions into the Tumbes-Piura dry forests ecoregion.[2]

Terrain

The ecoregion covers the western range of the Andes with a wide band of elevations including isolated peaks and massifs at the upper levels.[3]

Climate

At a sample location at coordinates 2.25°N 77.75°W / 2.25; -77.75 the Köppen climate classification is Af: equatorial, fully humid.[4] Mean temperatures range from 25.8 °C (78.4 °F) in November to 26.4 °C (79.5 °F) in March. Total annual rainfall is about 3,300 millimetres (130 in). Monthly rainfall ranges from 179.8 millimetres (7.08 in) in August to 332.3 millimetres (13.08 in) in June.[4]

Ecology

The ecoregion is in the neotropical realm, in the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome.[1] It is part of the Northern Andean Montane Forests global ecoregion. This ecoregion contains the Magdalena Valley montane forests, Venezuelan Andes montane forests, Northwestern Andean montane forests, Cauca Valley montane forests, Cordillera Oriental montane forests, Santa Marta montane forests and Eastern Cordillera Real montane forests terrestrial ecoregions.[5]

The cooling during glacial periods isolated plants and animals adapted to warmer climates into isolated pockets, while the cooler zones expanded and became connected. During the warmer inter-glacial periods the warmer zones rose higher and reconnected, while the cooler zones became isolated. The result was steady formation of new species, creating high levels both of diversity and endemism.[3]

Flora

The flora of the ecoregion have been the subject of many studies, in South America second only to the Northern Andean páramo and High Monte ecoregions.[6] About 50% of the ecoregion's flora is strictly endemic.[3] The flowering plant species are very diverse, with as many as 300 species in a single 1 hectare (2.5 acres) tract.[5]

Fauna

Endangered mammals include Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii), black-headed spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps), cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus), equatorial dog-faced bat (Molossops aequatorianus), Geoffroy's spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi), Hammond's rice rat (Mindomys hammondi) and mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque).[7] Endangered reptiles include the Western Ground Snake (Atractus occidentalis), Tropical Lightbulb Lizard (Riama oculata) and Haensch's Whorltail Iguana (Stenocercus haenschi).[7]

The ecoregion contains many endemic birds.[3] Endangered birds include the black-and-chestnut eagle (Spizaetus isidori), black-breasted puffleg (Eriocnemis nigrivestis), chestnut-bellied flowerpiercer (Diglossa gloriosissima), Chocó vireo (Vireo masteri), colorful puffleg (Eriocnemis mirabilis), El Oro parakeet (Pyrrhura orcesi), gold-ringed tanager (Bangsia aureocincta), pale-headed brush finch (Atlapetes pallidiceps), rufous-brown solitaire (Cichlopsis leucogenys), turquoise-throated puffleg (Eriocnemis godini), violet-throated metaltail (Metallura baroni) and yellow-eared parrot (Ognorhynchus icterotis).[7]

Endangered amphibians include

Atelopus stubfoot toads:

Centrolene glass frogs:

Pristimantis rain frogs, or robber frogs:

Other frogs:

Status

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) gives the region the status of "Vulnerable". The climate is hospitable to humans, who have lived in the region since pre-Columbian times, farming and grazing livestock. The environment has thus been greatly modified, although there are still some sizable stands of continuous forest stands.[3] Protected areas include the Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve.[1]

Notes
    1. Northwestern Andean montane forests – Myers, WWF Abstract.
    2. WildFinder – WWF.
    3. Klein.
    4. Northwestern Andean montane forests – Myers, Climate Data.
    5. Northern Andean Montane Forests – WWF Global.
    6. Feeley 2015.
    7. Northwestern Andean montane forests – Myers, All Endangered.

    Sources
    • Klein, Brad, Western South America: Northwest Colombia to southern Ecuador, WWF, retrieved 2017-06-15
    • Feeley, K. (2015), "Are We Filling the Data Void? An Assessment of the Amount and Extent of Plant Collection Records and Census Data Available for Tropical South America", PLoS ONE, 10 (4: e0125629), doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125629, PMC 4416035, retrieved 2017-06-15
    • Northern Andean Montane Forests, WWF Global, archived from the original on 2017-04-25, retrieved 2017-06-15
    • "Northwestern Andean montane forests", Global Species, Myers Enterprises II, retrieved 2017-06-15
    • WildFinder, WWF: World Wildlife Fund, retrieved 2017-04-26
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