The Cauca Valley dry forests form a long, narrow strip of tropical dry forest in Colombia, running north to south along the Cauca River between the Cordillera Occidental and the Cordillera Central in the northern Andes. The two ranges cast a rain shadow that leaves this inter-Andean valley markedly drier than the surrounding montane forests, supporting a mosaic of open woodland, deciduous and evergreen dry forest, riparian forest, arid scrub, and wetlands across low elevations. Where forest has regenerated, secondary vegetation is dominated by genera such as Cecropia, Cestrum, Inga, Croton, Isertia, Trema, and Vismia. The ecoregion harbors several endemic or near-endemic birds, including the white-chested swift (Cypseloides lemosi), grayish piculet (Picumnus granadensis), and apical flycatcher (Myiarchus apicalis). It is considered critically endangered, as most of its forest has been cleared for agriculture, with only small protected fragments remaining at the Laguna de Sonso (Sonso Lagoon) reserve.

At a glance

About the tropical & subtropical dry broadleaf forests biome

Tropical forests that pass through a pronounced dry season, when many trees drop their leaves to conserve water. They hold high biodiversity but are among the most threatened tropical habitats, sensitive to fire and to clearing for agriculture.

Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion

Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.

Collections for this ecoregion

No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.

Related ecoregions