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Cerro Amay cloud forest

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Cerro Amay Cloud Forest
Coordinates15°29′N 90°46′W / 15.48°N 90.77°W / 15.48; -90.77Coordinates: 15°29′N 90°46′W / 15.48°N 90.77°W / 15.48; -90.77
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The Cerro Amay cloud forest is in Central Guatemala. A cloud forest, also called a water montane rain forest, is a tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Similar to a rain forest, but at a higher elevation, it is often raining or is misty and filled with cloud cover. This cloud forest is listed as one of the top 500 forests to protect in on the planet.[1] It is the largest, unprotected, cloud forest in Northern Central America. 44,000 acres of the old growth forest remains and is at an elevation of 2,100 to 8,600 feet above sea level.

Etymology[edit]

The etymology of the term Cerro Amay comes from Spanish and Kek'chi, a Mayan language. Cerro means 'mountain' and Amay is said to means 'a place where it is difficult to survive.'

Cerro Amay cloud forest occupies is located at Cerro Amay, a mountain in Quiché Department, Guatemala, centered near -90.77 W, 15.48 N. This region is affiliated with, but not definitively part of, the Cuchumatanes Mountains, which lie to its west, and with the Sierra De Chama. Cerro Amay is defined on its west side by the Putul River, and on its east side, by the Chixoy River, which is the headwater of the Usumacinta. A steep southern escarpment defines the southern side of Cerro Amay and the north side slopes gradually down to an elevation of approximately 700 650 meters above sea level. The largest city town close to Cerro Amay is Uspantan, approximately 13 kilometers southwest of the southern escarpment of Cerro Amay.

Biodiversity[edit]

Species diversity

Cerro Amay harbors a broad diversity of rare and threatened animal species. Rare amphibians, which have suffered so much from Chytrid fungus outbreaks continue to survive here. For example, the critically endangered Guatemalan spike-thumb frog, found only in cloud forest, was discovered here in 2012. Also here is the critically endangered Vellerosus subspecies of spider monkey and the endangered black howler monkey. Threatened birds include Guatemala's national symbol, the Resplendent Quetzal and the endemic Pink-headed Warbler.

This forest is home to at least 200 species of trees, 266 species of birds with 45 migratory species, 70 species of mammals, and at least 39 species that are considered of conservation concern, including Jaguar, Puma, Margay, Ocelot, Black Howler Monkey, and Geoffroy’s (Vellerosus) Spider Monkey. According to one study, the most abundant birds in the forest, in decreasing order, are the Wilson’s Warbler, Common Bush Tanager, Amethyst-throated Hummingbird, White-eared Hummingbird, White-breasted Wood Wren, Swainson’s Thrush, Grey-breasted Wood Wren, Common Bush Tanager, Azure-crowned Hummingbird, Brown-backed Solitaire, Golden-crowned Warbler, Paltry Tyrannulet, Plain Wren, Ruddy Foliage-gleaner, Slate-colored Solitaire, Black Thrush, Black-throated Green Warbler, Swainson’s Thrush, Yellowish Flycatcher, Plain Wren, Tennessee Warbler, Green-throated Mountain-gem, Mountain Thrush, Slate-throated Redstart, Brown-backed Solitaire, Brown-capped Vireo, Spot-breasted Wren, Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush, Green Violetear, Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner, Golden-browed Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Rufous-browed Wren, Yellowish Flycatcher, Chestnut-capped Brush Finch, Eye-ringed Flatbill, Garnet-throated Hummingbird, Crescent-chested Warbler, and the Slate-throated Redstart.

The ecosystem is extraordinarily biodiverse: the trees are largely Mexican oak growing up to 150 feet in height. The forest has hundreds of endangered species and it also has a rather high rate of endemism, the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location. The large wild cats range from puma to jaguar.

The most abdundant birds in the Cerro Amay forest, in decreasing order, are the Wilson’s Warbler, Common Bush Tanager, Amethyst-throated Hummingbird, White-eared Hummingbird, White-breasted Wood Wren, Swainson’s Thrush, Grey-breasted Wood Wren, Common Bush Tanager, Azure-crowned Hummingbird, Brown-backed Solitaire, Golden-crowned Warbler, Paltry Tyrannulet, Plain Wren, Ruddy Foliage-gleaner, Slate-coloured Solitaire, Black Thrush, Black-throated Green Warbler, Swainson’s Thrush, Yellowish Flycatcher, Plain Wren, Tennessee Warbler, Green-throated Mountain-gem, Mountain Thrush, Slate-throated Redstart, Brown-backed Solitaire, Brown-capped Vireo, Spot-breasted Wren, Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush, Green Violetear, Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner, Golden-browed Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Rufous-browed Wren, Yellowish Flycatcher, Chestnut-capped Brush Finch, Eye-ringed Flatbill, Garnet-throated Hummingbird, Crescent-chested Warbler, and the Slate-throated Redstart. [2]

Current situation[edit]

The virgin cloud forest at Cerro Amay is believed to hold approximately 150 metric tons per hectare of above ground biomass. Keeping it unlogged and intact will keep that sequestered carbon in the ground and out of the air. The forest plays a key role in the region’s hydrology by capturing precipitation from the clouds that saturate the canopy and buffering the effects of downpours by preventing erosion. Ongoing deforestation is one of the pervasive problems at Cerro Amay. Small-scale farmers and illegal timber poachers continue to cut down trees on land they do not own. Every year, Cerro Amay loses more and more of its virgin forest to clear cutting. But working together, conservationists, scientists, and philanthropists are focusing on how to reverse the deforestation process and begin addressing the causes that underlie this degradation. This project has the support of a number of non-profits including; two local Guatemalan NGOs: Cloud Forest Conservation Initiative and FUNDAECO, and two based in the United States: Global Wildlife Conservation and Rainforest Trust. They are devising the sustainability initiatives that will ultimately protect Cerro Amay and create a prosperous future for its inhabitants—wild and human alike.

References[edit]


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