The Yap tropical dry forests cover the Yap Islands and neighboring atolls in Yap State of the Federated States of Micronesia, a low, gently sloping island group lying roughly 450 km northeast of Palau in the western Caroline Islands. Original vegetation was a mosaic of upland broadleaf forest, upland savanna, freshwater swamps, and mangroves, with canopy genera such as Celtis, Terminalia, Trichospermum, Garcinia, and Pouteria. The climate is tropical with little seasonal temperature variation but strongly seasonal rainfall, marked by a distinct dry season from January through March and heavy rains from roughly May through November, and strong typhoons occur regularly. Despite their small size the islands hold notable endemism, including the Yap monarch and Yap olive white-eye among the birds, the Yap flying-fox, and endemic plants such as Drypetes yapensis and Trichospermum ikutai, yet long human settlement has left the forests heavily degraded and the ecoregion has no legally protected areas. For gardeners, the native understory includes familiar ornamental genera such as Hibiscus and Ixora, alongside the widely planted tropical-almond tree Terminalia catappa.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 9.5°N, 138.1°E.
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: +2.7°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
Oceania
Approximate area
39 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: