The Panamanian dry forests are a small, isolated ecoregion confined to Panama, ringing the Pacific coast along the Gulf of Panama from the Gulf of Parita in the west to the Bay of San Miguel in the east, mostly at low elevations on the Pacific slope. The natural habitat is deciduous and semi-deciduous dry forest with gallery forests lining the rivers, where native flowering plants include the swollen-thorn acacia (Acacia collinsii) and prickly pear. The climate is tropical and seasonal, with average monthly temperatures near 27 degrees Celsius, a dry season of at least five months, and annual rainfall below 2,000 millimeters, kept drier than the surrounding moist forests by a rain shadow. Despite its small size it supports high biodiversity and many endemic species and serves as a biological corridor between inland moist forests and coastal mangroves, with the silky anteater as its flagship species. It is one of the most heavily degraded ecoregions in Central America, with more than 70 percent converted to agriculture and cattle ranching and very little of it formally protected. For gardeners, this hot, seasonally dry, low-rainfall setting favors heat- and drought-tolerant plants like the spiny, water-thrifty species native to these dry forests.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 7.8°N, 80.5°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: +3.0°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
1,972 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)
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
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 dry broadleaf forests ecoregions to explore: