Cloud Forest Archipelagos: Preservation of Fragmented Montane Ecosystems in Tropical America

Abstract

The present size and distribution of tropical montane cloud forests (TMCFs) in tropical America demand special strategies for their preservation (LaBastille and Pool 1978; Vázquez-G. 1989b). TMCFs and other montane forests are known to display a discontinuous pattern (Figures 1, 2) analogous to archipelagos (Whittaker 1968; Luna-V. et al. 1989; Iltis, pers. com.) or to chains of island-like habitats (Vázquez-G. 1989b). Large preserves are usually considered effective for extensive and continuous ecosystems, and for faunal species with extensive home ranges (Shafer 1990). However, large preserves may be inappropriate for or poorly represent a regional, provincial, or even local compositional spectrum of discontinuous and unique (endemic) entities. Researchers generally agree on the discontinuous nature of cloud forests throughout the American tropics and the high endemism present in these ecosystems (Rzedowski 1978). However, current conservation efforts rarely consider the uniqueness and discontinuity of these island-like ecosystems when establishing protected areas. A clustering of CFs from northern México (Figure 1) to southern Panama and the Caribbean (Figure 2) into natural subdivisions should facilitate understanding of these mostly remnant systems and could help in defining conservation priorities with the eventual aim of integrating them into a balanced international conservation network (LaBastille and Pool 1978; Vázquez-G. 1989a).