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Cause for Concern in South and Latin America, Carribean and Florida
Neotropical
•
Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Para-Para'ba interior forests
The little native forest that remains in this ecoregion occurs in protected blocks. Timber extraction, agriculture, and hunting represent continuous threats. Such activities will increase as human populations expand and put increased pressure on timber trees, game species, and carnivores.
Neotropical
•
Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Pernambuco coastal forests
Most of the Pernambuco Coastal Forests have been cleared in the last century, first by people logging for Brazil wood and later by the sugarcane industry. Today, forest remnants are legally protected, but agriculture, logging, and hunting still persist. Key ecological processes such as seed dispersal have been critically modified by the elimination of large mammals and fruit-eating birds.
Neotropical
•
Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Pernambuco interior forests
Deforestation for fuel, timber, agriculture, and cattle ranching has removed 95 percent of the original vegetation. Today, most of the forests are represented by small isolated fragments--some of which represent the last stand for many endemic species.
Neotropical
•
Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Peruvian Yungas
The Peruvian Yungas ecoregion is still relatively undisturbed as a habitat. Deforestation of the ecoregion is moderate, occurs mostly below 6,600 feet (2000 m), and is most extensive in the Maraon Valley and other river valleys in the area. The rugged nature of the landscape has added some protection, but recent human settlement and expansion have brought extensive clearing for grazing and agriculture, especially of coffee and illegal coca.
Neotropical
•
Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Petén-Veracruz moist forests
Large portions of these forests have been eliminated. Only small patches remain, scattered north-to-south from Tamaulipas to central Veracruz. Scrub and secondary communities have sprung up in their place. Logging and cattle grazing cause the greatest habitat loss. Only 20 percent of the natural vegetation remains intact, of which 14 percent is secondary growth. A single protected area has been set aside to protect the region's remaining biodiversity.
Neotropical
•
Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Puerto Rican moist forests
The soils in a subtropical moist forest are generally good for agriculture. Only small pieces of the forest that have never been cleared for agriculture remain. In addition, invasive species have been very destructive to the native fauna.
Neotropical
•
Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Purus varzea
Toxic levels of mercury used in gold-mining have seeped into the soil wherever the mines have been cut into the landscape. Expanses of deforested areas created by cattle-ranching and commercial logging scar and fragment the Purus Vrzea, threatening the great diversity of species here.
Neotropical
•
Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Purus-Madeira moist forests
With the exception of the southern area, this ecoregion remains remarkably intact. Controlled and uncontrolled burning threatens the habitat in the southern part of this region. Cattle ranching, industrial-scale agricultural projects, and road building all threaten the fragile soils of this ecoregion.
Neotropical
•
Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Santa Marta montane forests
Much of this ecoregion falls within the protective boundaries of Parque Nacional Natural Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, which also protects several tribes of Amerindians. These mountains have been inhabited by these people since before European discovery of the continent. Lower elevations are being colonized by people, and much land has been cleared for the illegal cultivation of drugs. Recent use of chemical herbicides to combat this drug cultivation has poisoned many areas and denuded them of their original vegetation. Overhunting adversely affects populations of red-brocket deer, tapirs, jaguars, pumas, white-lipped and collared peccaries, agoutis, pacas, and many large birds.
