El Cantadero, Argentina Photograph by WWF/Manuel Nores   Central South America: Bolivia and Argentina Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   23,600 square miles (61,100 square kilometers) -- about the size of West Virginia Vulnerable

· In Rugged Terrain
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
More Photos

In Rugged Terrain

Looking like an impenetrable wall of mountains and forests, this ecoregion teems with life. Ferns and orchids cover steep cliffs and dense forest clings to the hillsides. Many endemic plants and animals can be found in the region’s isolated valleys and peaks.

Special Features

This ecoregion borders Bolivian dry forests to the north, puna montane grasslands at higher elevations to the west, and is transitional with the Gran Chaco savannas to the east. This narrow strip of montane moist forest forms most of the eastern slope of the southern High Andes and is surrounded by much drier habitat. The elevation ranges from 2,620 feet (800 m) in the foothills to 8,200 feet (2500 m), but can reach as high as 10,170 feet (3100 m) on isolated peaks. The climate is wet and humid with more than 100 inches (2500 mm) of rain each year. These dense evergreens are stout, usually not exceeding 50 feet tall (15 m), and are laden with epiphytes, moss, and ferns. At higher elevations between 3,930 and 8,200 feet (1200 and 2500 m), Andean alder, pine, and Podocarpus trees dominate the forests. At lower elevations, these forests become mixed with other, more typical rainforest trees, especially those from the Lauraceae and Myrtaceae families.

	At least six different cat species roam this ecoregion: pampas cat, Geoffrey’s cat, ocelot, little spotted cat, jaguarundi, and jaguar.

Wild Side

In the morning, the eerie sound of a Darwin’s tinamou is drowned out by the squawking of a flock of endemic Tucuman amazon parrots and the hum of cicadas high in the treetops. The charismatic rufous-throated dipper perches on a rock below a cascading waterfall. It hops into the rapidly flowing water only to appear several meters downstream--startling an otter that is busy munching on a fresh perch. Jaguar tracks cover fresh peccary hoof prints in the mud. A small guinea pig smells the air as the shadow of a bat falcon flashes across the ground. As night falls, leaf-nosed bats fly from the shelter of a hollow termite nest, gleaning katydids and other insects from the foliage. Meanwhile, a small heliconid butterfly exits its cocoon and dries its wings in the damp air.

Cause for Concern

It has been estimated that more than 60 percent of the Argentine yungas have disappeared due to logging, colonization, and agricultural expansion. Road building, plantations of exotic pine, and uncontrolled tourism are also concerns.

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