The Chiquitano dry forests stretch across the eastern lowlands of Bolivia, centered on Santa Cruz, and reach into the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Rondonia, marking a transition zone at the southern edge of Amazonia between humid forest and the drier Chaco. This is a tropical dry broadleaf forest of largely deciduous trees, with a canopy that includes soto (Schinopsis brasiliensis), curupau (Anadenanthera macrocarpa), the trumpet tree tajibo (Tabebuia heptaphylla), and the prized timbers roble (Amburana cearensis) and cedro (Cedrela fissilis). The climate is tropical with a pronounced dry season during the southern-hemisphere winter, and rainfall increasing from the drier south toward the wetter northwest. It is regarded as one of the largest and most biologically rich tracts of healthy tropical dry forest remaining, supporting high mammal diversity along with flagship species such as the maned wolf, jaguar, giant armadillo, and giant otter. Conservation pressure is intense: agricultural expansion is the leading threat, and wildfires from August to November 2019 burned about 1.4 million hectares of the forest. For gardeners in suitably warm, seasonally dry climates, the native Tabebuia trumpet trees are widely grown as showy flowering ornamentals.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 16.8°S, 61.7°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
12b-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
12b-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +4.3°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Tropical & Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests
Realm
Neotropic
Approximate area
89,032 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Reach Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 2)
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.
Climate-resilient picks · 4
These plants fit this ecoregion today AND remain in range under the mid-century SSP3-7.0 projection. Lead with these for a planting that holds up as the climate shifts.
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
Other tropical & subtropical dry broadleaf forests ecoregions to explore: