1. How many rain forests zones (or rainforest types) are there in El Yunque?
There are 4 rain forest types in El Yunque.
The Tabonuco Forest:
The Tabonuco Forest is the lowest level. It is characterized by tall trees and low light intensities in the ground level. The Tabonuco Forest contains the richest flora on the forest with 175 tree species. This zone appears on the foot hills and slopes below 2,000 feet. It covers 13,417 acres.
The Palo Colorado Forest:
The Palo Colorado Forest is a swamp of short-statured trees with shallow root systems that begin to occur uphill from the Tabonuco Forest. The Palo Colorado Forest has an elevation of above 2,000 feet on slopes and valleys. It contains 50 tree species. This area covers 8,401 acres.
The Sierra Palm Forest:
The plants in this area normally do not have great height or large trunks, but it occurs in dense patches within the elevation ranges of both the Palo Colorado and Tabonuco Forest types. This forest type is found on steep slopes. This forest type covers 5,065 acres of the El Yunque National Forest.
The Dwarf Forest:
The Dwarf Forest is also known as the elfin woodlands and they are found at the upper edges of the Palo Colorado and Sierra Palm Forest. In this area tree types become shorter, blending into a zone of vegetation. This forest type exists in a zone of water-saturated soils with little oxygen. Most mineral inputs for plants become dissolved in the rain and fog. This forest type covers 1,111 acres
2. How much rain falls in El Yunque?
240 inches of rain fall in El Yunque per year
3. How much rain runs off the rainforest in a year?
A hundred billion gallons of water run off El Yunque.
4. Why are Puerto Rican parrots endangered?
There are around 40 Puerto Rican Parrots left in the wild. This very close to extinction. Deforestation is the main reason why Puerto Rican Parrots are endangered. Other reasons are hunting, natural predation, and that people use them as pets.
5. Briefly describe the history of El Yunque.
First the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico was populated by the Taino Indians. In the early 1500's of Spanish invasion the mountain streams of El Yunque and other rivers of the island were full of gold, with enslaved Taino Indians used for labor they got the gold out of the rivers. After the gold supply ran out the King of Spain decreed the El Yunque rainforest a nature reserve. The U.S. invaded Puerto Rico in 1898, just as the Spanish American War was ending. Puerto Rico became US territory in the Treaty of Paris. El Yunque rain forest reserve became a federal reserve.
6. What does El Yunque mean?
El Yunque is a Spanish approximation of the aboriginal Taino word "Yu-ke" thought by scholars to mean "White Lands".
