Ecological Region

The Argentine Espinal ecoregion is a thorny deciduous shrubland forest, located in central Argentina, extending from central Santa Fe through the province of Córdoba to the north of San Luis. It has been extensively modified by large scale cattle ranching.

The Bolivian montane dry forests ecoregion in Bolivia, on the eastern side of the Andes, is a transitional habitat between the puna grasslands higher up to the west and the Chaco scrub to the east. This dry region is characterized by steep hillsides, cliffs and valleys.

The Bolivian Yungas is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Yungas of west-central Bolivia and extreme southeastern Peru. Steep terrain, high precipitation, and difficult access have kept much of this ecoregion in a natural state.

The Central Andean dry puna ecoregion is a very dry, high elevation grassland of the southern high Andes, extending through western Bolivia and northern Chile and Argentina. Dry puna is distinguished from other types of puna by its annual rainfall, or lack thereof.

The Central Andean puna ecoregion is a high elevation montane grassland and shrubland in the southern high Andes, extending from southern Peru, though Bolivia, into northern Argentina. Several protected natural areas are found here.

The Central Andean wet puna ecoregion is a high elevation, wet, montane grassland in the southern high Andes, located in the Andean Mountains of Peru and eastern Bolivia and is composed of bunchgrass communities, wetlands, small shrubs and trees, and herbaceous plants.

Located on the west coast of South America, the Chilean Matorral is a terrestrial ecoregion of central Chile. It contains the majority of Chile's population and is typically characterized by a temperate Mediterranean climate. It is home to Chile's renowned wine and agricultural regions.

The Chocó-Darién moist forests ecoregion extend along most of the Pacific coast of Colombia, bounded to the east by the Andes; and along the Caribbean coast, north into Panama. The region has extremely high rainfall and the forests hold great biodiversity.

The Greater Antilles mangrove ecoregion is comprised of the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Jamaica. These mangroves support relatively high levels of endemic flora and fauna and are often part of complex assemblages of habitats.

The Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub ecoregion, along the Caribbean Sea in Venezuela and Colombia, is a unique xerophytic area in the neotropics. Proposed as a bird center of endemism, this arid habitat is dominated by thorn scrub and succulents.