›

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

›

St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks

Biome

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

·

Règne biogéographique

Neotropic

Rochers tachés de guano avec un phare et des antennes paraboliques, rochers Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul, Brésil.

Photo de la région - john.vergari / Wikimedia Commons - CC BY 2.0; attribution required.

St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks

Les rochers Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul constituent l'une des plus petites écorégions de la planète, un ensemble de minuscules îlots appartenant au Brésil qui émergent de l'océan Atlantique équatorial à plus de 800 km de l'Amérique du Sud, là où une partie de la dorsale médio-océanique perce la surface de la mer. La végétation terrestre est quasi inexistante : seul le plus grand îlot, Belmonte, porte des mousses et des herbes, tandis que les autres rochers stériles n'abritent guère plus que des algues marines tolérantes au sel et des champignons. Le climat est façonné par la zone de convergence intertropicale, avec des vents moyens faibles interrompus par des orages locaux, et la seule eau douce provient de la pluie, aucun des îlots ne disposant de réserve permanente. Malgré la rudesse de la terre, les eaux environnantes sont riches et abritent plus de 100 poissons de récif, dont environ dix pour cent ne se trouvent nulle part ailleurs, aux côtés d'oiseaux marins nicheurs comme le fou brun, le noddi brun et le noddi noir, ainsi que le crabe Sally Lightfoot, emblème des îles. Classés aire de protection environnementale en 1986, ces rochers font désormais face à un risque existentiel lié au changement climatique et à la montée du niveau des océans.

RESOLVE 609

Neotropic

2 sq mi

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

Type de paysage

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

Région végétale

Neotropic

Empreinte de la région

2 sq mi

Pression sur l'habitat

Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)

Sourcing et entretien

Sponsorisé

Plantes indigènes

Achetez la sélection de plantes indigènes d'une pépinière.

Trouver des plantes indigènes chez Burpee ->

Fournitures de jardinage

Terreau, paillis, engrais et outils pour les planter et les entretenir.

Trouver des fournitures chez Amazon ->

Plotwright peut percevoir une commission sur les achats effectués via ces liens, sans coût supplémentaire pour vous.

Utilisez ceci comme schéma général de plantation pour la région : Terres arides et semi-arides où de faibles précipitations erratiques et une forte évaporation limitent la végétation à des arbustes, des plantes succulentes et des graminées éparses adaptés à la sécheresse. Les écarts de température entre le jour et la nuit sont importants, et la vie est finement accordée à la rareté de l’eau. Pour vos décisions de jardin, affinez selon les contraintes de lumière, d'eau, de sol et de taille adulte de votre site.

Plantes adaptées à cette région

Plotwright n'a pas encore de plantes adaptées au climat pour cette région. À mesure que le catalogue s'étend à cette bande climatique, des suggestions apparaîtront ici.

Régions de plantation similaires

Parcourez d'autres régions du même biome. Leurs listes de plantes peuvent suggérer des espèces et des associations à comparer.

Cactus colonnaires et broussailles xériques sur la péninsule de Macanao, au Venezuela.

RESOLVE 597 - Neotropic

Araya and Paria xeric scrub

The Araya and Paria xeric scrub stretches along Venezuela's northeastern Caribbean coast, covering the Araya and Paria peninsulas, the area around Cumaná, and the offshore islands of Margarita, Coche, and Cubagua. Its vegetation is a mosaic of salt-tolerant dune herbs, dry thorn scrub studded with columnar and prickly-pear cacti such as Stenocereus and Opuntia, and low deciduous woodland with trees including Bursera, Prosopis, and Parkinsonia, grading into semi-deciduous and evergreen forest on the higher hills. The climate is hot and markedly arid, with average temperatures around 24 to 27 degrees Celsius and rainfall that is very sparse on the Araya Peninsula but much higher on the wetter Paria slopes. The ecoregion harbors notable wildlife, most famously the threatened yellow-shouldered amazon parrot, alongside breeding sea turtles and a number of endemic plants, yet it is considered critically threatened by overgrazing, deforestation, sand extraction, and coastal urbanization. For gardeners in hot, dry climates, several drought-hardy genera native here, including the cacti Stenocereus and Opuntia and the flowering tree Parkinsonia, are widely grown as ornamentals.

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

RESOLVE 598 - Neotropic

Atacama desert

The Atacama Desert ecoregion runs as a continuous strip for nearly 1,000 kilometers along the narrow coast of the northern third of Chile, extending toward southern Peru, within the Neotropic realm. Its interior is one of the driest places on Earth and almost without vegetation, while life concentrates on coastal slopes and ravines where Pacific fog and winter drizzle sustain isolated oases known as lomas. Characteristic plants include columnar and cushion cacti such as Eulychnia, Copiapoa, Browningia, and Leucostele, alongside bromeliads on sandy ground and the endemic tamarugo tree, with around 550 species of ferns, gymnosperms, and flowering plants recorded. Endemism here can exceed 60 percent, and the desert is the largest fog desert on the planet, supporting a sparse but highly adapted fauna whose flagship is Darwin's leaf-eared mouse. For gardeners, several of its hardy succulents, notably Copiapoa cacti, are prized ornamentals well suited to arid, low-water plantings.

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

RESOLVE 599 - Neotropic

Caribbean shrublands

The Caribbean Shrublands ecoregion is a Neotropic strip of xeric scrub scattered across the low, dry islands of the Caribbean, including the Cayman Islands, all of Barbados, the coastal Windward Islands (parts of Grenada, St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, and Trinidad), and much of the Leeward Islands, from Guadeloupe's Grande-Terre and Marie-Galante to Antigua, Anguilla, St. Martin, St. Barthélemy, and the eastern Virgin Islands. Its vegetation is seral in character, grading from herbaceous coastal strand through scrublands and savannas to littoral woodland, and it sits within a broader island setting of tropical dry forests and mangroves. The climate is warm and tropical, with the Cayman Islands experiencing a humid regime, a distinct wet season from May to November, and persistent trade winds. The ecoregion holds notable island endemism: the Cayman Islands alone support 26 herpetofauna species, about three-quarters of them endemic, while the critically endangered Grenada dove, Grenada's national bird, persists in mature dry scrub lowlands and hillsides. Habitat loss and introduced species are the leading threats to these naturally limited coastal scrub habitats.

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

RESOLVE 600 - Neotropic

Cuban cactus scrub

The Cuban cactus scrub is a xeric shrubland ecoregion strung along the leeward, southeastern coast of Cuba, concentrated in the provinces of Guantanamo and Santiago de Cuba and covering roughly 3,300 square kilometers. Its vegetation is dominated by columnar cacti and other succulents alongside palms, organized into coastal scrubland zones rooted in shallow rendzina soils derived from coralline limestone; characteristic woody genera include Bursera, Croton, Acacia, and Cordia. The climate is semidesert, receiving less than 800 mm of rainfall a year with a prolonged dry period and average temperatures near 26 degrees Celsius. The ecoregion is an important center of plant diversity and endemism, sheltering endemic reptiles such as the Cuban rock iguana along with the flagship Cuban flower bat, a key pollinator of its native flora. For gardeners working hot, dry coastal sites, the region is home to drought-hardy ornamental cactus genera native here, including Opuntia, Harrisia, Pilosocereus, Melocactus, and Leptocereus.

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

RESOLVE 601 - Neotropic

Galápagos Islands xeric scrub

The Galápagos Islands xeric scrub covers Ecuador's Galápagos archipelago, roughly 128 volcanic islands scattered across the Pacific some 960 km west of the South American mainland. Across the lowland arid zone the vegetation is drought-tolerant scrub and dry forest, characterized by palo santo (Bursera graveolens), the endemic guayabillo (Psidium galapageium), coastal saltbush (Cryptocarpus pyriformis) and Maytenus, and several endemic cactus genera including the tree-like prickly pears (Opuntia), Jasminocereus, and Brachycereus. The climate is semi-arid and oceanic with two seasons: a warm wet season from about December to May and a cooler, drier garúa season, while rainfall climbs sharply with elevation so that higher slopes carry moister Scalesia woodlands. The islands hold around 500 native vascular plant species, roughly 180 of them endemic, and the ecoregion is the celebrated home of the giant Galápagos tortoise and an emblem of evolutionary endemism. Its native flora is now critically threatened by introduced and invasive species, including goats and numerous non-native plants, though nearly the entire ecoregion lies within Galápagos National Park.

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

3,094 sq mi

Niveau NNH 1

Cactus colonnaires et figuiers de Barbarie dans un fourré épineux sur sable rouge à La Guajira, en Colombie.

RESOLVE 602 - Neotropic

Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub

The Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub is an arid shrubland ecoregion strung along the Caribbean coast of Colombia and Venezuela, occupying the Guajira Peninsula and the Ranchería river valley and reaching out to the ABC Islands of the Leeward Antilles. Its dry lowlands are dominated by thorny trees and succulents, with characteristic genera including Acacia, Prosopis (mesquite), and a wealth of cacti such as Opuntia. The climate is hot and dry, with low and highly variable annual rainfall and warm temperatures year-round, a pocket of true xerophytic vegetation within the otherwise wet Neotropics. The region is notable as habitat for a large community of Caribbean flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) alongside a diversity of birds and bats, and much of the Serranía de Macuira is protected within Macuira National Park. For gardeners drawn to drought-tolerant plantings, the Los Flamencos Sanctuary here is recognized as a center of plant diversity for Salvia, the bromeliad Hechtia, and native cacti.

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

Educator packet

Region packet

St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks educator packet

Les rochers Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul constituent l'une des plus petites écorégions de la planète, un ensemble de minuscules îlots appartenant au Brésil qui émergent de l'océan Atlantique équatorial à plus de 800 km de l'Amérique du Sud, là où une partie de la dorsale médio-océanique perce la surface de la mer. La végétation terrestre est quasi inexistante : seul le plus grand îlot, Belmonte, porte des mousses et des herbes, tandis que les autres rochers stériles n'abritent guère plus que des algues marines tolérantes au sel et des champignons. Le climat est façonné par la zone de convergence intertropicale, avec des vents moyens faibles interrompus par des orages locaux, et la seule eau douce provient de la pluie, aucun des îlots ne disposant de réserve permanente. Malgré la rudesse de la terre, les eaux environnantes sont riches et abritent plus de 100 poissons de récif, dont environ dix pour cent ne se trouvent nulle part ailleurs, aux côtés d'oiseaux marins nicheurs comme le fou brun, le noddi brun et le noddi noir, ainsi que le crabe Sally Lightfoot, emblème des îles. Classés aire de protection environnementale en 1986, ces rochers font désormais face à un risque existentiel lié au changement climatique et à la montée du niveau des océans.

Realm

Neotropic

Dominant biome

Deserts & Xeric Shrublands

Approximate area

2 square miles

States / provinces

Not recorded

Climate descriptor

Not recorded

Classroom prompts

- Which climate and biome facts explain why this region supports its characteristic plants?

- How do native-plant and wildlife-support claims differ from a species-presence claim?

- Which source-backed facts would you cite before using this region in a classroom map activity?

Use the Sources & citations section below for page citation styles and region source links.

Sources et citations

Citer cette page

Pour les plans de cours, articles ou notes de plantation régionales qui utilisent cette page Plotwright. Pour citer le cadre d'écorégions sous-jacent ou un profil éditorial spécifique, utilisez les fiches de sources ci-dessous.

Plotwright. (n.d.). St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks (St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/regions/resolve-609

Sources pour cette région

Cette page cite d'abord Plotwright pour la vue compilée, puis répertorie les pages sources du cadre, du climat et de l'éditorial en amont afin que les lecteurs puissent citer directement le matériel d'origine.

RESOLVE 2017 Terrestrial Ecoregions (Dinerstein et al.)

Cadre principal des écorégions

One Earth

Wikipedia

Wikimedia Foundation

Ouvrir la source

Guide des sources