Binh Chau-Phuoc Buu Nature Reserve, Vietnam Photograph by Vern Weitzel, AVVRG   Indochina÷Vietnam, in Southeast Asia. Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests   13,500 square miles (35,000 square kilometers) -- about the size of New Jersey and Hawaii combined Critical/Endangered

· Coastal Crisis
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern

Coastal Crisis

The lowland dry forests of the southern coast of Vietnam represent the single most degraded dry forest ecoregion outside of India. Only 10 percent of this ecoregionās original forests remain, and only two percent of these are protected. The news is not all bad, however; several important species of mammals and birds are known to survive here.

Special Features

Although these tropical forests are not as diverse as those in wetter regions, they do contain a variety of trees and plants. Woody species dominate the coastal forest areas. As you move away from the coast, you encounter thicket-type vegetation dominated by beach naupaka, screw pine and cycas. This vegetation then gives way to more shrubby trees entwined with lianas. Red sand dunes are stabilized with two endemic species of dipterocarp trees.

	Because of their small body size, gibbons are termed lesser apes. Their long arms allow rapid movement through the forest canopy. They can also turn most of their joints 360 degrees, which means they can hang onto a branch and appear to spin on their own axis.

Wild Side

Despite the loss of habitat, several large mammals manage to survive in this devastated ecoregion. The endangered douc langur, a rare monkey, eats immature leaves and unripe fruit, deriving water from the food it eats. Two other resident species, the red-cheeked gibbon and the pileated gibbon, favor small, sugary fruit such as figs. Two species of near-endemic birds÷Germainās peacock-pheasant and the gray-faced tit-babbler÷can be found here too.

Cause for Concern

The main threats to this habitat are agriculture, exploitation of valuable hardwood trees and other plants, and rampant hunting to feed the commercial market in Vietnam and China. Even protected areas have become surrounded by forest clearing, exposing the forest to other threats.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.