Paraguana xeric scrub  Content Cover Image  Bonaire, Venezuela
(Photograph by Cayrn Ernst)   The ecoregion, called the
Paraguaná xeric scrubland, is located in arid and semi-arid
areas of northwestern Venezuela between 10° and 12° north
latitude. This is paradoxical, however, because abundant
precipitation would be expected with this geographic location.
Walter suggests that this is due to the high drying power of the
trade winds blowing constantly all along the coastal plain.
Lahey attributes it to the combined effect of a high pressure
center and the thermal contrast between the sea and the
continent. Medina points out that besides reduced precipitation,
there is also an effect on the distribution of rain, both on a
daily and annual basis. Díaz concludes that there is erratic
distribution in time and space. The high-velocity northeast
trade winds combined with the presence of soils with high salt
content, principally calcite, have given rise to a very specific
composition of flora and fauna, with ecophysiol