Luzon tropical pine forests
Encyclopedia
The Luzon tropical pine forests are a tropical coniferous forest
ecoregion
of the Philippines
in the western Pacific Ocean
. These pine forests are home to a large number of the island's endemic plants and animals.
is the largest island in the Philippines and lies at the north of the group. These pine forests are found at elevations over 1000m in the Cordillera Central mountains in the north of the island, where they are mixed in with areas of Luzon montane rain forests especially at the northern end of the range. The Cordillera Central includes Luzon's highest peak Mount Pulag
along with other high peaks such as Mount Puguis, Mount Polis and Mount Data.
Rainfall is high (over 2500mm per year) but concentrated in the July/August monsoon with a long dry season from November to April.
s. Three larger mammals of the forest are the Philippine Long-tailed Macaque
(Macaca fascicularis), Philippine Warty Pig
(Sus philippensis), and Malayan Civet (Viverra tangalunga) all of which are vulnerable to forest clearance while the pig and the macaque are prey for hunters. Birds of the pine forest include the pine-nut eating Common Crossbill
, which is found in pine forests all over the world.
production for centuries and today this is intensified as forest is cleared for agriculture and copper and gold mining projects as the population of the Philippines grows and remains impoverished in these rural areas. In the dry season it is a straightforward process to set fires for forest clearance. Protected areas include Mount Pulag, home to a number of endemic plants and birds.
Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests
Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests are a forest biome. They are located in regions of semi-humid climate at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Most tropical and subtropical coniferous forest ecoregions are found in the Nearctic and Neotropic ecozones, from Mexico to Nicaragua and on the...
ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in the western Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. These pine forests are home to a large number of the island's endemic plants and animals.
Location and description
LuzonLuzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
is the largest island in the Philippines and lies at the north of the group. These pine forests are found at elevations over 1000m in the Cordillera Central mountains in the north of the island, where they are mixed in with areas of Luzon montane rain forests especially at the northern end of the range. The Cordillera Central includes Luzon's highest peak Mount Pulag
Mount Pulag
Mount Pulag is the second highest mountain in the Philippines. It is Luzon’s highest peak at 2,922 meters above sea level. The borders between the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao, and Nueva Vizcaya meet at the mountain's peak....
along with other high peaks such as Mount Puguis, Mount Polis and Mount Data.
Rainfall is high (over 2500mm per year) but concentrated in the July/August monsoon with a long dry season from November to April.
Flora
Luzon has long been isolated from other land masses so a unique flora has developed. In this ecoregion Benguet pine (Pinus insularis) trees are thinly spread over the grasslands that cover the slopes. Regular fires in the dry season maintain the balance of pines and grassland and prevent other deciduous trees and shrubs from taking hold.Fauna
There are a number of mammals endemic to the Cordillera Central, mainly species of mice and rats including large squirrel-like cloud ratCloud rat
The cloud rats are a group of arboreal and folivorous nocturnal rodents native to the forests of the Philippines. There are six known species of cloud rat. These animals have not been studied extensively. The Filipino Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau has begun breeding Northern Luzon...
s. Three larger mammals of the forest are the Philippine Long-tailed Macaque
Philippine Long-tailed Macaque
The Philippine long-tailed macaque is a subspecies of the crab-eating macaque. It is found in most Philippine forests and woodlands, but especially in the mangrove forests of western central Philippines— particularly in Palawan, the Visayas, and Mindanao. The names M. f. philippinensis or...
(Macaca fascicularis), Philippine Warty Pig
Philippine Warty Pig
The Philippine Warty Pig, Sus philippensis, is one of four known pig species endemic to the Philippines. The other three endemic species are the Visayan Warty Pig , Mindoro Warty Pig and the Palawan Bearded Pig , also being rare members of the Suidae family...
(Sus philippensis), and Malayan Civet (Viverra tangalunga) all of which are vulnerable to forest clearance while the pig and the macaque are prey for hunters. Birds of the pine forest include the pine-nut eating Common Crossbill
Common Crossbill
The Common Crossbill is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It breeds in the spruce forests of North America, where it is known as Red Crossbill, as well as Europe and Asia; some populations breed in pine forests in certain areas of all three continents, and in North...
, which is found in pine forests all over the world.
Threats and preservation
Pine trees have been cut down for timber, firewood and turpentineTurpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
production for centuries and today this is intensified as forest is cleared for agriculture and copper and gold mining projects as the population of the Philippines grows and remains impoverished in these rural areas. In the dry season it is a straightforward process to set fires for forest clearance. Protected areas include Mount Pulag, home to a number of endemic plants and birds.