Toro Negro State Forest is one of the 16 state forests in Puerto Rico.[1] The forest is located in the central region of the island. The forest covers 6,945 cuerdas (about 7,000 acres) of mountains, with heights that include Cerro de Punta, the highest peak in the island.[2] It spans areas within the municipalities of Jayuya, Ponce, Orocovis, Juana Díaz, and Ciales, and consists of seven non-contiguous tracks of land.[1][2] The largest segment of the forest is located in the municipalities of Jayuya and Ponce.[3] Some 40% of the area of Toro Negro State Forest is located in Ponce's Barrio Anón.[4]
The land where Toro Negro sits was acquired by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) in 1934 and, in 1942, the Secretary of the Interior transferred it to the Secretary of Agriculture. From 1942 to 1961, it was administered by the Forest Service. In 1961 it was transferred to the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.[5]
It is located on Route PR-143 near the intersection with Route PR-149. The Park office is located on Route PR-143, km. 32.4.[5]
There are nine rivers that flow south (Río Indalecia, Río Guayo, Río Inabón, Río Blanco, Río Anón and Río Prieto), and three that flow north (Río Saliente, Toro Negro, and Río Matrullas) in the forest. The Matrullas and Guineos reservoirs are also part of the forest.
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In the forest there are four (4) vegetation associations in 2 areas of subtropical moist life zone (1) Forest Tabonuco and very humid lower montane zone (23) Buchenavia Micropholis Forest, Sierra Palm forest and dwarf forest. 160 tree species were reported in 53 families. The largest families are Melastomaceae (16 species). Lauraceae (11 species), Myrtaceae (10 espeies). Ferns and orchids are abundant. Forty (40) are endemic to PR and 13 are introduced.
Some most common trees in the forest are Tabonuco, Ausubo, Jaguilla, Nutmeg, Passion, Maga, Castor
Also abound Sierra Palms and tree ferns. In the forest plantations were planted Mahoe introduced species, Honduran Mahogany. Honduran Pine. Eucalyptus and Kadam. Mixed in native vegetation also obervan trees such as Fresno, African Tulip, Guam Venezuelan Casuarinas.
The Forest of Black Bull has deep and shallow soils. Deep soils are derived from volcanic igneous rock, fine-grained. These high amounts of clay contienene permeable, little sand, silt, and high amounts of iron and aluminum, but little silica. The surface soils are acidic and brittle while the subsoil is acidic, is heavy, but permeable. They are mostly steep hills. Usually the top soil lost by erosion.
There are 30 species of birds reported. Including 6 endemic species and two that are endangered such as: Falcon saw (Accipiter atriatus) and Guaraguao forest (Buteo platypterus) There are 20 species of reptiles and amphibians, with the exception of Bufo marinus all are endemic. Recent studies have identified eight species of bats. In rivers and lakes can be found several species of fish and crustaceans.
El Bosque Toro has a black high recreational value. System of trails and roads, observation towers, camping area. ►
The annual rainfall is above the 110 inches. The months of September and more are the most precipitation. There is a dry season from December to March. The months of June and July also tend to be dry.
| Climate data for Cerro Puntas,Toro Negro Forest 4,389 feet (1,330m) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 72 (22) |
75 (24) |
77 (25) |
79 (26) |
80 (27) |
83 (28) |
84 (29) |
85 (29) |
84 (29) |
82 (28) |
77 (25) |
75 (24) |
85 (29) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 67.0 (19.4) |
68.5 (20.3) |
70.3 (21.3) |
71.4 (21.9) |
75.5 (24.2) |
80.3 (26.8) |
82.9 (28.3) |
83.9 (28.8) |
82.5 (28.1) |
77.8 (25.4) |
72.1 (22.3) |
69.7 (20.9) |
46.0 (7.8) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 46.3 (7.9) |
45.1 (7.3) |
49.9 (9.9) |
55.2 (12.9) |
59.0 (15.0) |
61.4 (16.3) |
64.3 (17.9) |
64.9 (18.3) |
63.9 (17.7) |
59.5 (15.3) |
53.8 (12.1) |
50.0 (10.0) |
13.5 (−10.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 28 (−2) |
34 (1) |
32 (0) |
40 (4) |
45 (7) |
50 (10) |
53 (12) |
58 (14) |
51 (11) |
44 (7) |
40 (4) |
37 (3) |
28 (−2) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 7.23 (183.6) |
4.24 (107.7) |
4.05 (102.9) |
9.50 (241.3) |
12.92 (328.2) |
10.14 (257.6) |
8.29 (210.6) |
10.77 (273.6) |
14.51 (368.6) |
11.58 (294.1) |
10.04 (255) |
7.52 (191) |
120.00 (3,048) |
| Source: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/ [6] | |||||||||||||
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