Pine Forest

•Pine forests are light coniferous forest in which pine is the predominant tree.

• The pine forest is a monoculture, meaning only one species -- Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) -- was planted here.

Characteristics

•A monoculture causes a decline in the number of species, particularly animal species, existing in an area by decreasing the variety of different resources available.

• They occur on sandy loams, sands, limestone, dolomites, and peat bogs.

• The climate in Pine Forest is warm and temperate.

• In Pine Forest, the average annual temperature is 19.6 °C. In a year, the average rainfall is 1434 mm.

Climate and amount of rainfall

Luzon Tropical Pine Forest

• The Luzon tropical pine forests are a tropical coniferous forest ecoregionof the Philippines in the western Pacific Ocean.

Location and description• Found at elevations over 1000m in the Cordillera

Central mountains in the north of the island.

• The Cordillera Central includes Luzon's highest peak Mount Pulag along with other high peaks such as Mount Puguis, Mount Polis and Mount Data.

• Also found in the Zambales Mountains of west-central Luzon, particularly in Mount Tapulao and Mount Redondo near Subic, Zambales.

Flora• 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 rats.

• Three larger mammals in this forest are the:

Philippine Long-tailed Macaque (Macacafascicularis)

Philippine Warty Pig (Sus philippensis)

Malayan Civet (Viverra tangalunga)

• The most common bird in this forest is the:

Pine-nut eating Common Crossbill

Threats

•Pine trees have been cut down for timber, firewood and turpentine 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.

Preservation

• In the dry season it is a straight forward process to set fires for forest clearance. Protected areas include Mount Pulag, home to a number of endemic plants and birds.

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