Guayaquil flooded grasslands

The Guayaquil flooded grasslands ecoregion is in the southwest of Ecuador in the delta of the Guayas River, extending south to the mangroves of the Gulf of Guayaquil.

It covers an area of {{convert|284898|ha}}.{{sfn|Guayaquil flooded grasslands – Myers|loc=WWF Abstract}}

The Guayaquil flooded grasslands adjoin the Western Ecuador moist forests ecoregion to the west and north, and a section of the Ecuadorian dry forests ecoregion to the east.

To the southeast they merge into the South American Pacific mangroves ecoregion.

The extreme south adjoins the Tumbes–Piura dry forests.{{sfn|WildFinder – WWF}}

The Köppen climate classification is "Aw": equatorial, dry winter.{{sfn|Guayaquil flooded grasslands – Myers|loc=Climate Data}}

In a sample location at coordinates {{coord| -2.25 | -79.75}} temperatures are fairly constant throughout the year, slightly cooler in July and slightly warmer in April.

Yearly average minimum temperatures are {{convert|21|C}} and maximum {{convert|33|C}}, with a mean of {{convert|26|C}}.

Monthly precipitation ranges from less than {{convert|10|mm}} in July–November to {{convert|265|mm}} in March.

Total annual precipitation is about {{convert|1200|mm}}.{{sfn|Guayaquil flooded grasslands – Myers|loc=Climate Data}}

The Guayaquil flooded grasslands are in the neotropical realm, in the flooded grasslands and savannas biome.{{sfn|Guayaquil flooded grasslands – Myers|loc=WWF Abstract}}

The grasslands are seasonally flooded, and also hold riparian flora.{{sfn|Guayaquil flooded grasslands – Myers|loc=WWF Abstract}}

Endangered birds include yellow-bellied seedeater (Sporophila nigricollis) and Peruvian tern (Sternula lorata).{{sfn|Guayaquil flooded grasslands – Myers|loc=All Endangered}}

Endangered reptiles include green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata).{{sfn|Guayaquil flooded grasslands – Myers|loc=All Endangered}}

The World Wildlife Fund gives the ecoregion a status of "Critical/Endangered".

Threats come from the steady growth of the human population and large-scale irrigation programs for agriculture.{{sfn|Elao}}

As of 2000 the {{convert|2974.5|km2}} flooded grasslands ecoregion had {{convert|949.9|km2}}, or 31.9%, natural cover with extractive use, and {{convert|2024.7|km2}} of agricultural land.{{sfn|de Ferranti|2005|p=91}}

A 2006 book said the {{convert|2883.50|km2}} ecoregion had protected areas of {{convert|56.8|km2}}, or 2%.

67.1% of the area had been transformed.{{sfn|Zimmerer|2006|p=220}}

{{notes}}{{reflist|30em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{citation

|last=de Ferranti|first=David M.|title=Beyond the City: The Rural Contribution to Development

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=78EzXUhKSqYC&pg=PA91|accessdate=10 April 2017|date=1 January 2005|publisher=World Bank Publications|isbn=978-0-8213-6097-2|author-link=David de Ferranti}}

• {{citation |title=Western South America: Western Ecuador (NT0905)|publisher=WWF: World Wildlife Fund

|last=Elao |first=Carmen Bonifaz de |url=http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/nt0905|accessdate=2017-04-10}}

• {{citation|ref={{harvid|Guayaquil flooded grasslands – Myers}}

|title=Guayaquil flooded grasslands|work=Global Species|publisher=Myers Enterprises II

|url=http://www.globalspecies.org/ecoregions/display/NT0905|accessdate=2017-04-10}}

• {{citation|ref={{harvid|WildFinder – WWF}}

|title=WildFinder|publisher=WWF: World Wildlife Fund

|url=http://www.worldwildlife.org/science/wildfinder/|accessdate=2017-03-25}}

• {{citation

|last=Zimmerer|first=Karl S.|title=Globalization and New Geographies of Conservation

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UdLK-UGj7YkC&pg=PA220|accessdate=10 April 2017|date=15 September 2006|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-98344-8}}

{{refend}}

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Category:Neotropical ecoregions

Category:Ecoregions of Ecuador