Country

United States Virgin Islands: one ecoregion. Each with its climate now and toward 2050, and its conservation tier.

A single ecoregion, the Caribbean shrublands, covers the United States Virgin Islands - classed in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, and assessed as able to recover. The classification tells the truth about these islands: without high volcanic peaks to capture trade-wind rain, the natural vegetation is dry-tropical scrub, cactus-studded thickets, and drought-hardy coastal woodland rather than rainforest. Warmth is constant; water is the limiting factor. Gardens that work with that reality - built around succulents, dry-forest trees, and salt- and wind-tolerant shrubs - need little intervention, while lush tropical plantings depend on irrigation. The recoverable status of the ecoregion means native dry-forest species are both well suited and worth favoring in any new planting.