The Trinidad and Tobago Dry Forests ecoregion occupies a small share of this twin-island nation off the South American mainland, concentrated in northwestern Trinidad and the northern tip of Tobago, with patches on offshore islets such as Chacachacare, Monos, Little Tobago, and Saint Giles. These are tropical dry forests of both deciduous and semi-evergreen types, more open and lower-statured than the islands' moist forests because a full canopy never closes, so grasses and low foliage fill the gaps and mosses and epiphytes stay scarce. The defining feature is markedly low, seasonal rainfall, which favors drought-deciduous trees over large, evergreen specimens. Despite covering little ground, the broader island flora is rich, with roughly 2,200 flowering plant species and many endemics, and the ecoregion's flagship is the nocturnal, endangered Lesser Antilles robber frog; habitat loss from development around Port of Spain, agriculture, and industry remains the leading threat. For gardeners, characteristic native trees here include gumbo-limbo and salmwood, both well suited to hot, dry, seasonal conditions.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 10.6°N, 61.4°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: +2.4°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
105 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Recover (Dinerstein NNH 3)
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: