There are many similarities and differences between the major ecosystems of Puerto Rico. Each ecosystem has unique and diverse plant and animal life. In Puerto Rico you can find several ecosystems or just one. For example, there is a tropical dry forest (Guanica Dry Forest), a tropical rain forest (El Yunque), several coral and kelp reefs, and about four mangrove forests. All ecosystems within Puerto Rico are quite warm considering Puerto Rico's latitude. The most beautiful place on the entire island is the Cordillera Central, the main mountain range of Puerto Rico. All ecosystems are also extremely different. There are countless species of animals and plants in Puerto Rico. This includes insects, birds, reptiles, fish, flowers and trees. The soil of Puerto Rico's tropical rain forest and tropical dry forests are the same. This has to do with the fact that they share the same soil process. There is only one tropical rainforest in all of Puerto Rico, this rainforest is called El Yunque. El Yunque is 28,000 acres. There is a tropical dry forest in Puerto Rico, called Guanica Dry Forest. The Guanica Dry Forest is 9,000 acres in size. There are approximately four mangrove forests in Puerto Rico. There are different types of plants in all of Puerto Rico's major tropical ecosystems. The different types of plants depend on the specific ecosystem. There are several species of mangroves, including black mangroves, red mangroves, white mangroves, sea oats, tea tree, reeds, salt bushes, ferns and hibiscus. In the tropical dry forest (Guanica Dry Forest), plants typically include palms, lotus, ironwood, acacias, pepper, cotton and ceiba trichastandra. El Yunque (Puerto Rico's rainforest) is pretty much in the middle of the map overall, Puerto Rico's only rainforest, El Yunque, collects the most rainwater during a year. El Yunque receives over 100 billion liters of rainwater each year. Then obviously there are coral reefs and seagrass beds which are aquatic ecosystems. The similarities and differences within Puerto Rico's major tropical ecosystems are striking. All ecosystems are extremely unique in their own way. Diversity in all major ecosystems is high and this has to do with how diverse the ecosystems are. Simply looking at each ecosystem, there is a big difference between a mountain range (Cordillera Central), an aquatic ecosystem (mangrove forest), a tropical dry forest (Guanica Dry Forest), and a tropical rainforest (El Yunque). It's all extremely fascinating and important to making Puerto Rico such a unique island.