Editing Neotropical realm (section)

== Major ecological regions ==
The [[World Wide Fund for Nature]] (WWF) subdivides the realm into ''[[bioregion]]s'', defined as "geographic clusters of ecoregions that may span several habitat types, but have strong biogeographic affinities, particularly at taxonomic levels higher than the species level (genus, family)."

[[Laurel forest]] and other [[cloud forest]] are subtropical and mild temperate [[forest]], found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. [[Tropical rainforest]], [[tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests]] are highlight{{clarify|date=March 2013}} in Southern North America, Amazonia, Caribbean, Central America, Northern Andes and Central Andes.{{cn|date=November 2023}}

=== Amazonia ===
The [[Amazonia bioregion]] is mostly covered by [[tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests|tropical moist broadleaf forest]], including the vast [[Amazon rainforest]], which stretches from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, and the lowland forests of the [[The Guyanas|Guianas]]. The bioregion also includes [[tropical savanna]] and [[tropical dry forest]] ecoregions.{{cn|date=November 2023}}

=== Caribbean ===
{{main|Caribbean bioregion}}

===Central America===
{{main|Central America bioregion}}

=== Central Andes ===
{{main|Andes}}

The Central Andes lie between the gulfs of [[Gulf of Guayaquil|Guayaquil]] and [[Gulf of Penas|Penas]] and thus encompass southern Ecuador, Chile, Peru, western Bolivia, and northwest and western Argentina.<ref>{{Cite web | url= https://www.britannica.com/place/Central-Andes | title= Central Andes mountains, South America |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref>

===Eastern South America===
Eastern South America includes the [[Caatinga]] [[deserts and xeric shrublands|xeric shrublands]] of northeastern Brazil, the broad [[Cerrado]] grasslands and savannas of the [[Brazilian Plateau]], and the [[Pantanal]] and [[Gran Chaco|Chaco]] grasslands. The diverse [[Atlantic forests]] of eastern Brazil are separated from the forests of Amazonia by the Caatinga and Cerrado, and are home to a distinct flora and fauna.

=== Northern Andes ===
{{main|Andes}}

North of the Gulf of Guayaquil in Ecuador and Colombia, a series of accreted oceanic terranes (discrete allochthonous fragments) have developed that constitute the Baudo, or Coastal, Mountains and the Cordillera Occidental.<ref>{{Cite web | url= https://www.britannica.com/place/South-America/The-Northern-Andes |title= Northern Andes mountains, South America |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref>

===Orinoco===
The Orinoco is a region of humid forested broadleaf forest and wetland primarily comprising the [[drainage basin]] for the [[Orinoco]] River and other adjacent lowland forested areas. This region includes most of Venezuela and parts of Colombia, as well as [[Trinidad and Tobago]].

=== Southern South America ===
{{See also|Southern South America}}The temperate forest ecoregions of southwestern South America, including the [[temperate rain forest]]s of the [[Valdivian temperate rain forests]] and [[Magellanic subpolar forests]] ecoregions, and the [[Juan Fernández Islands]] and [[Desventuradas Islands]], are a refuge for the ancient [[Antarctic flora]], which includes trees like the [[southern beech]] (''Nothofagus''), [[Podocarpaceae|podocarps]], the [[Fitzroya|alerce]] (''Fitzroya cupressoides''), and [[Araucaria]] pines like the monkey-puzzle tree (''Araucaria araucana''). These rainforests are endangered by extensive logging and their replacement by fast-growing non-native pines and [[eucalyptus]].