Guanica Forest NEON - United States of America

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Basic Information
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Site Name
Guanica Forest NEON
Short name
GUAN
Country
United States of America
Web Address
https://www.neonscience.org/field-sites/guan
Site Manager
Yamil Toro
Site Description
The Guánica Dry Forest Reserve (GUAN) is a terrestrial NEON field site located in a subtropical dry zone along the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The 34.9km2 (8630 acre) site is encompassed within the Guánica State Forest and Biosphere Reserve and managed by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. The forest was designated as a Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations in 1981 and supports numerous global ecological research programs. The area is characterized by low annual rainfall and high evapotranspiration. Plant species along the reserve include cacti, grasses, and shrubs and the forest has of areas with semi-evergreen, deciduous and scrub trees. This location is part of the NEON Atlantic Neotropical Domain (D04), which includes the island of Puerto Rico and the southern tip of Florida. The Domain includes one additional terrestrial field site and two aquatic field sites.
Last modified
2025-09-17 14:28:46

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General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
2015
Observed properties
Affiliation and Network Specific Information
Affiliation
GERI✔This site is a verified "GERI" member.
NEON✔ (GUAN)This site is a verified "NEON" member.
Photos
GUAN tower
GUAN tower
Geographic
View in site map
Centroid/Representative Coordinates

Latitude: 17.96955 Longitude: -66.8687

Size
ca. 3492.00ha
Elevation (average)
125.00msl
Elevation (min)
8.00msl
Elevation (max)
209.00msl
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Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml] [.geojson]
Bounding Box [.shp] [.kml] [.geojson]
GEO-BON Biome
Coastal
Terrestrial
Biome
Rainforest
Ecosystem Type
Coastal
Forest
Evergreen Forest
Rainforest
Air Temperature: Average Annual
23.00°C
Precipitation Annual
840.00mm
Geology
The Guánica site is composed of basal gravel to conglomerate overlain by limestone, known as the Juana Diaz Formation. Its estimated thickness is about 850 m. This geology can also be observed at the municipalities of Santa Isabel (Descalabrado River), Ponce (Punta Cuchara Reserve), Penuelas, Guayanilla (Punta Verraco Farm), Sabana Grande, and Guanica.
Vegetation
The Guánica Dry Forest Reserve is home to over 700 plant species and divided into three groups: upland deciduous forest, semi-evergreen forest, and the scrub forest closest to the shore. The vegetation is thick and dense with many multiple-stemmed trees. Forest cover is a mosaic of mature native forest of >100 years old and secondary forests dominated by native and introduced species.
Soils
The soils of Guánica Forest are derived from limestone formed from marine deposits. Soils are typical to the region: fine-loamy, mixed, carbonatic, typic haplocalcids. These soils are from the Aridisol taxonomic order used to describe dry, desert-like soils with low organic content which are sparsely vegetated by drought- or salt-tolerant plants.
Hydrology
The Río Loco/Guánica Bay watershed is located in the southwest corner of Puerto Rico, covering portions of Guánica, Yauco, Lajas and Cabo Rojo counties and discharging into the Guánica Bay. It is considered one of the major riparian discharge points in the southwest coast. This watershed is highly manipulated and is used as a drinking water supply by local populations in these counties as well as for irrigation of crops and flood control in the Lajas Valley.
Site Type
Platform
Design of Experimentation
mainly experimentation
Scale of Experimentation
beyond catchment scale
Design of Observation
mainly observation
Scale of Observation
beyond catchment
Permanent Power Supply
Yes
Accessible All Year
Yes
Permanent Operation
Yes