Country

Dominican Republic: 4 ecoregions. Each with its climate now and toward 2050, and its conservation tier.

Four ecoregions divide Hispaniola's eastern half. Hispaniolan moist forests are the Dominican Republic's largest, wrapping the wetter windward slopes and lowlands; Hispaniolan dry forests occupy the rain-shadowed southwest and coastal pockets; and Hispaniolan pine forests crown the high cordilleras, a genuinely cool conifer zone on a tropical island. Below sea level in the southwest, the Enriquillo wetlands add a small, Half Protected flooded-grassland system around the great salt lake. Gardeners here work three climates within short distances: humid tropical, seasonally dry, and montane. Moist-forest conditions suit the broadest tropical palette, the dry zones favor cacti and drought-deciduous trees, and the pine belt opens the door to plants that want cool nights.