Editing Pico Duarte (section)

==Ecology==
[[File:Approaching the peak of Pico Duarte.jpg|thumb|right|Approaching the peak of Pico Duarte.]]
The area has an [[oceanic climate]] that very few would associate as typical of a Caribbean island, with cool temperatures all year round, going several degrees below freezing during winter nights.

The mountain and the surrounding landscape are covered in ''pino de cuaba'' (''[[Pinus occidentalis]]'') [[Hispaniolan pine forests|forests]]. The pines frequently host the [[epiphyte]]s ''guajaca'' (''[[Tillandsia]]'' spp.) and the [[Parasitic plant|parasitic]] ''[[Dendropemon|Dendropemon pycnophyllus]]''. Some areas, like the Valle de Lilís, are treeless [[Montane grasslands and shrublands|meadows]] of [[bunch grass|tussock]]-like ''pajones'' (''[[Danthonia]] domingensis''). The [[understory]] is composed of [[shrub]] such as ''[[Lyonia heptamera]]'', ''[[Myrica picardae]]'', ''[[Myrsine coriacea]]'', ''[[Ilex tuerkheimii]]'', ''[[Garrya fadyenii]]'' and ''[[Baccharis myrsinites]]''. All of these species are adapted to the [[Soil pH|acidic]] [[soil]] of the area.<ref name=MyersEtal/>
[[File:Pinus occidentalis on Pico Duarte.jpg|thumb|Hispaniolan pine forests on Pico Duarte]]
Reptiles in the area include the endemic ''[[Panolopus marcanoi]]''. Birds seen in the area include the endemic [[Palm crow|Hispaniolan palm crow]] (''Corvus palmarum palmarum''), [[Antillean siskin]] (''Carduelis dominicensis''), [[rufous-throated solitaire]] (''Myadestes genibarbis''), [[Hispaniolan crossbill]] (''Loxia megaplaga'') (whose abundance is directly related to the Hispaniolan pine cone crop), and [[Hispaniolan trogon]] (''Priotelus roseigaster''); at lower elevations the [[Hispaniolan amazon]] (''Amazona ventralis''), [[scaly-naped pigeon]] (''Patagioenas squamosa'') and [[Golden swallow (bird)|golden swallow]] (''Tachycineta euchrysea'') can be seen. There are two extant mammals endemic to Hispaniola<ref name=Woods1981/> whose remaining range includes the [[broadleaf forest]]s of lower elevations: the primarily nocturnal [[Hispaniolan solenodon]] (''Solenodon paradoxus'')<ref name=iucnSP/> and the [[Hispaniolan hutia]] (''Plagiodontia aedium'').<ref name=iucnPA/> Both are rarely seen, with the latter considered Endangered. [[Wild boar]], descendants of animals introduced to the island during the colonial period, have been reported.<ref name=Pariser1994/>

A [[wildfire]] in 2003 altered the landscape of a large section of the eastern side of the mountain. As of 2008, the hillside of charred trees is now a new-growth forest. While thousands of charred trees are still standing, a large variety of indigenous grasses and small plants are now growing.