| Caribbean pine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pinus caribaea specimen in El Hatillo, Miranda, Venezuela | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnospermae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Genus: | Pinus |
| Subgenus: | P. subg.Pinus |
| Section: | P. sect.Trifoliae |
| Subsection: | P. subsect.Australes |
| Species: | P. caribaea |
| Binomial name | |
| Pinus caribaea | |
 | |
| Natural range ofPinus caribaea | |
| Synonyms | |
Pinus hondurensisSénéclauze | |
TheCaribbean pine (Pinus caribaea) is a hardpine species native toCentral America and the northernWest Indies (inCuba,the Bahamas, and theTurks and Caicos Islands). It belongs to subsectionAustrales in subgenusPinus. It inhabitstropical and subtropical coniferous forests such asBahamian pineyards, in both lowlandsavannas and montane forests.
As of 2013, the species has three acceptedvarieties:[2]
It has been proposed that the pines ofAustrales subsection (of which Caribbean pine is part) arrived to the Caribbean basin from thesoutheastern United States.[3] Regarding the population in the Bahamas, it has been proposed that this species emigrated into the region from Florida four or five thousand years ago, long after the end of theIce Age, as the climate became wetter. Based on fossil species assemblages it is believed that the environment on the Bahamas was much less forested and a dry savannah during the glacial maximum some 18,000 years ago when the sea level was some 120 metres (390 feet) lower than it is today.[4][5]
Paleoclimatic[6] and genetic data[7] have been used to propose thatP. caribaea ultimately originated in Central America. According to chloroplast genetic data,P. caribaea lineages colonized the Caribbean islands from populations in Central America at least twice (one leading to Cuban populations and another leading to the populations on the Bahamas).[7]
The Uverito forest in Venezuela, located between the states of Anzoátegui and Monagas, is the largest artificial forest in the world planted by man, with around 600,000 hectares of Caribbean pine forest plantations.
Periodicwildfires play a major role in the distribution of this species; this tree regenerates quickly and aggressively, replacing broadleaf trees after fires. In zones without fires, thesuccession continues and the pine forest is replaced by tropical broadleaf forest. The young pines require bright sunlight to grow, and are resistant to fire once they mature.[8][9]
Lumber and pulpwood from this tree shipped to Florida is the main export of theAbaco Islands.[10]
According to theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature, this species as a whole is considered ofleast concern,[1][11] but two of the three varieties are consideredendangered (var.caribaea)[12] orvulnerable (var.bahamensis).[13]
