Editing Central America (section)

===Central American forests===
<gallery>
File:Rain forest of Petén in Guatemala.jpg|[[Petén–Veracruz moist forests]], Guatemala
File:Forest canopy in Belize (5344010084).jpg|Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Belize
File:Zona de Acampar Parque Montecristo.jpg|[[Montecristo National Park]], El Salvador
File:Altagracia Volcan Maderas Bosque Nuboso.jpg|[[Maderas]] forest, Nicaragua
File:Small seepage pond near the top of Cerro El Chino - ZooKeys-298-077-g004B.jpg|Texiguat Wildlife Refuge Honduras
File:Monteverde bosque.jpg|[[Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve]], Costa Rica.
File:DirkvdM cloudforest-jungle.jpg|[[Parque Internacional la Amistad]], Panama
</gallery>

[[File:El Chorrerón en San Fernando, Morazán, El Salvador - 2011.jpg|thumb|upright|El Chorreron in El Salvador]]
Central America is part of the Mesoamerican [[biodiversity hotspot]], boasting 7% of the world's [[biodiversity]].<ref name=webng /> The [[Pacific Flyway]] is a major north–south [[flyway]] for [[Bird migration|migratory birds]] in the Americas, extending from [[Alaska]] to [[Tierra del Fuego]]. Due to the funnel-like shape of its land mass, migratory birds can be seen in very high concentrations in Central America, especially in the spring and autumn. As a bridge between North America and South America, Central America has many species from the [[Nearctic realm|Nearctic]] and the [[Neotropical realm]]s. However the southern countries (Costa Rica and Panama) of the region have more biodiversity than the northern countries (Guatemala and Belize), meanwhile the central countries (Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador) have the least biodiversity.<ref name=webng /> The table below shows recent statistics:

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="margin: 1em auto;"
|+Biodiversity in Central America (numbers of different species of terrestrial vertebrate animals and vascular plants)
! Country
! Amphibian<br />species
! Bird<br />species
! Mammal<br />species
! Reptile<br />species
! Total terrestrial<br />vertebrate species
! Vascular plants<br />species
! Biodiversity
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Belize<ref name=MongabayB />
|style="text-align:center;"|46
|style="text-align:center;"|544
|style="text-align:center;"|147
|style="text-align:center;"|140
|style="text-align:center;"|877
|style="text-align:center;"|2894
|style="text-align:center;"|3771
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Costa Rica<ref name=MongabayCR />
|style="text-align:center;"|183
|style="text-align:center;"|838
|style="text-align:center;"|232
|style="text-align:center;"|258
|style="text-align:center;"|1511
|style="text-align:center;"|12119
|style="text-align:center;"|13630
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|El Salvador<ref name=MongabayES />
|style="text-align:center;"|30
|style="text-align:center;"|434
|style="text-align:center;"|137
|style="text-align:center;"|106
|style="text-align:center;"|707
|style="text-align:center;"|2911
|style="text-align:center;"|3618
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Guatemala<ref name=MongabayG />
|style="text-align:center;"|133
|style="text-align:center;"|684
|style="text-align:center;"|193
|style="text-align:center;"|236
|style="text-align:center;"|1246
|style="text-align:center;"|8681
|style="text-align:center;"|9927
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Honduras<ref name=MongabayH />
|style="text-align:center;"|101
|style="text-align:center;"|699
|style="text-align:center;"|201
|style="text-align:center;"|213
|style="text-align:center;"|1214
|style="text-align:center;"|5680
|style="text-align:center;"|6894
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Nicaragua<ref name=MongabayN />
|style="text-align:center;"|61
|style="text-align:center;"|632
|style="text-align:center;"|181
|style="text-align:center;"|178
|style="text-align:center;"|1052
|style="text-align:center;"|7590
|style="text-align:center;"|8642
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Panama<ref name=MongabayP />
|style="text-align:center;"|182
|style="text-align:center;"|904
|style="text-align:center;"|241
|style="text-align:center;"|242
|style="text-align:center;"|1569
|style="text-align:center;"|9915
|style="text-align:center;"|11484
|}

Over 300 species of the region's flora and fauna are threatened, 107 of which are classified as critically endangered. The underlying problems are [[deforestation]], which is estimated by [[FAO]] at 1.2% per year in Central America and Mexico combined, [[habitat fragmentation|fragmentation]] of [[rainforest]]s and the fact that 80% of the vegetation in Central America has already been converted to agriculture.<ref name=Harvey2008 />

Efforts to protect fauna and flora in the region are made by creating [[ecoregion]]s and nature reserves. 36% of Belize's land territory falls under some form of official protected status, giving Belize one of the most extensive systems of terrestrial protected areas in the Americas. In addition, 13% of Belize's marine territory are also protected.<ref name=Ramos2010 /> A large coral reef extends from Mexico to Honduras: the [[Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System]]. The [[Belize Barrier Reef]] is part of this. The Belize Barrier Reef is home to a large diversity of plants and animals, and is one of the most diverse [[ecosystem]]s of the world. It is home to 70 hard coral species, 36 [[Alcyonacea|soft coral]] species, 500 species of fish and hundreds of [[invertebrate]] species.
So far only about 10% of the species in the Belize barrier reef have been discovered.<ref name=westminster />