Cambalache State Forest
Encyclopedia
Description
Cambalache is located in the municipalities of AreciboArecibo, Puerto Rico
Arecibo is a municipality in the northern midwest coast of Puerto Rico and located by the Atlantic Ocean, north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta, and Florida. Arecibo is spread over 18 wards and Arecibo Pueblo...
and Barceloneta
Barceloneta, Puerto Rico
Barceloneta is a municipality in Puerto Rico and is located in the north region, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Florida, east of Arecibo and west of Manati. Barceloneta is spread over 3 wards and Barceloneta Pueblo...
. It protects steep limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
hills known as mogote
Mogote
Mogotes are isolated, steep-sided, residual, hills, which are composed of either limestone, marble, or dolomite and surrounded by nearly flat alluvial plains. These hills typically have a rounded, tower-like form. This term was originally used for karst hills developed in the folded limestone in...
s, which are covered in moist forests
Puerto Rican moist forests
The Puerto Rican moist forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion on the archipelago of Puerto Rico. They cover an area of .-Lowland forests:Lowland forests are found throughout the island's coastal lowlands except for the dry southwest...
. The elevation ranges from 5 to 50 m (16.4 to 164 ft) above mean sea level. Average rainfall is 1479.8 mm (58.3 in) per year, with the temperature varying from 23.3 to 27 °C (73.9 to 80.6 F). Mogotes oriented northeast to southeast have humid northern and southwestern slopes but xeric tops.
Flora
Common trees include CecropiaCecropia
Cecropia is a Neotropical genus presently consisting of sixty-one recognized species with a highly distinctive lineage of dioecious trees....
, Schefflera
Schefflera
Schefflera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae. The plants are trees, shrubs or lianas, growing tall, with woody stems and palmately compound leaves. The circumscription of the genus has varied greatly...
, and Tabebuia heterophylla. The endemic Puerto Rican Royal Palm (Roystonea borinquena
Roystonea borinquena
Roystonea borinquena, sometimes known as the Puerto Rico royal palm, is a species of palm which is native to Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.-Description:...
) and Palma de Sierra (Gaussia attenuata
Gaussia attenuata
Gaussia attenuata is a palm which is native to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The species grows on steep-sided limestone hills in Puerto Rico....
) are also found in the forest. Zanthoxylum martinicense inhabits xeric areas. The hillsides and valleys are home to distinct vegetation zones. The valleys have lost most of their original vegetation and instead feature scrubby secondary forest
Secondary forest
A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as fire, insect infestation, timber harvest or windthrow, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident...
s and planted teak
Teak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
groves.