Eastern Panamanian montane forests


The Eastern Panamanian montane forests is an ecoregion in the east of Panama and the extreme northwest of Colombia.
It contains diverse flora and fauna, with considerable endemism.
The ecoregion is largely intact due to its inaccessibility, although the opening of an extension of the Pan-American Highway has introduced threats from human activity.

Geography

Location

The ecoregion covers several separate areas of higher ground in Panama and the adjoining border region of Colombia.
It has an area of.
In the east the ecoregion is found on mountains surrounded by Chocó-Darién moist forests.
Further west it is found on mountains surrounded by Isthmian-Atlantic moist forests..

Terrain

The region is one where the Caribbean Plate is riding over the Nazca Plate and the Cocos Plate, causing tectonic instability and volcanic activity.
The Cordillera de San Blas and the Serranía del Darién are in the northeast, the latter containing the Cerro Tacarcuna.
The south holds isolated chains of mountains such as the Serrania de Jungurudó, the Serranía de Bagre and the Serranía del Baudó beside the Pacific coast.
The Eastern Panamanian montane forests ecoregion lies at elevations above.

Climate

Annual rainfall is typically.
The central mountains receive less rain, averaging while the mountains along the Caribbean coast receive.
At a sample location at the Köppen climate classification is Af: equatorial; fully humid.
Mean temperatures range from in November to in March.
Annual rainfall is about.
Monthly rainfall varies from in March to in August.

Ecology

The ecoregion is in the neotropical realm, in the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome.

Flora

The forests grow at altitudes from in the Darién Province.
At the upper levels the trees give way to páramo grasslands.
The forests are complex, with great diversity and considerable endemism.
Types of vegetation at the lower levels include semi-deciduous tropical moist forest, the most common form, as well as swamp forests and marshes.
The semi-deciduous forest canopy trees include pochote, yuco de monte, guanacaste, Licania hypoleuca, Platypodium elegans, ceibo barrigón, Panama tree, nargusta, Tetragastris panamensis and taruma.
At higher elevations the dominant canopy tree in the premontane and montane wet forests is wild cashew.
Other common canopy trees include Bombacopsis species, snakewood, kapok tree, Cochlospermum orinocense, almendro and balsam of Peru.
Mapora palm is the dominant sub-canopy tree and Mabea occidentalis is the dominant shrub in the understory.
Above there are cloud forests dominated by mapora palm.
Higher up there are elfin forests dominated by Clusia species.

Fauna

The Eastern Panamanian montane forests ecoregion, situated on the land bridge between the Americas, and with different elevations and climates, has diverse fauna.
Species from the north and south have mixed, and endemic species have appeared. Darien Province has about 770 species of vertebrates. Primates are gray-bellied night monkey, Geoffroy's spider monkey, black-headed spider monkey, Geoffroy's tamarin, mantled howler and white-headed capuchin. Cats are cougar, jaguar, ocelot, margay, jaguarundi and oncilla. Endangered mammals include black-headed spider monkey, Geoffroy's spider monkey and Baird's tapir.
The ecoregion is the northernmost area for South American birds such as saffron-headed parrot, oilbird and golden-headed quetzal. Endemic birds to the ecoregion also inhabit the Choco-Darién moist forests to the south. The restricted range birds are found at altitudes from. They include the bare-shanked screech owl, beautiful treerunner, blue-and-gold tanager, green-naped tanager, Nariño tapaculo, Pirre hummingbird, Pirre warbler, russet-crowned quail-dove, sooty-faced finch, Tacarcuna bush tanager, Tacarcuna tapaculo, Tacarcuna wood quail, varied solitaire, violet-capped hummingbird and yellow-collared chlorophonia.
There are 24 species of endangered amphibians and reptiles in the Darién National Park. Endangered amphibians include the horned marsupial frog.

Status

The World Wide Fund for Nature gives the ecoregion the status "Relatively Stable/Intact".
It has avoided widespread damage due to its steep and inaccessible slopes, and there are still large, intact blocks.
However, the opening of the Pan-American Highway has caused colonization from central Panama, with increases in slash-and-burn farming, gold mining and the illegal capture of macaws, parrots, and passerine birds for sale.
The ridge of the Llorona San Blas is in the Kuna Indian Reserve of San Blas, and is protected by the indigenous Kuna people.
The Darién National Park protects a large area of the ecoregion.
Other protected areas are the Kuna de Walá Mortí, Nurrá and Comarca Emberá-Wounaan indigenous reserves, the Canglon Forest Reserve and the Chepigana Forest Reserve.