The Cuban pine forests form a tropical coniferous ecoregion confined to the island of Cuba and Isla de la Juventud, surviving in separate western patches around Pinar del Rio and eastern stands in the Sierra Maestra and Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa mountains. The canopy is built almost entirely of native pines, with Pinus caribaea and Pinus tropicalis dominating the western forests and Pinus maestrensis and Pinus cubensis in the east, often accompanied by the local oak Quercus sagraeana. These trees grow on well-drained, nutrient-poor, acidic soils, including quartziferous sands and lateritic ground, under a warm climate averaging about 25 degrees Celsius with a dry season from roughly November to April and a wet summer. The region is a stronghold of endemism, home to flagship birds such as the Cuban tody, Cuban trogon, and olive-capped warbler, while the Cajalbana Plateau ranks among Cuba's most distinctive centers of plant diversity; centuries of logging, fire, and mining have left the ecoregion classified as critically endangered.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 22.5°N, 84.1°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.2°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 Coniferous Forests
Realm
Neotropic
Approximate area
2,479 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Recover (Dinerstein NNH 3)
About the tropical & subtropical coniferous forests biome
Subtropical and tropical forests dominated by conifers such as pines, typically in semi-arid climates with seasonal rainfall. They often occupy higher elevations and carry fire-adapted understories.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
No catalog plants intersect this ecoregion's zone range. As the catalog grows to cover this region's climate band, suggestions will surface here.
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
Other tropical & subtropical coniferous forests ecoregions to explore: