There are several similarities and differences between the main ecosystems of Puerto Rico. Each ecosystem has unique and diverse plant and animal life. In Puerto Rico, you can find either multiple ecosystems or just one. For example, there is a tropical dry forest (Guanica Dry Forest), a tropical rainforest (El Yunque), several coral reefs and seagrass beds, and about four mangrove forests. All of Puerto Rico's ecosystems are quite warm considering Puerto Rico's latitude. The coolest place on the entire island is the Cordillera Central, Puerto Rico's main mountain range. All ecosystems are also extremely diverse. There are countless species of animals and plants in Puerto Rico. This includes insects, birds, reptiles, fish, flowers and trees. The soil of the tropical rainforest and the dry tropical forests of Puerto Rico is the same. This is because 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 covers 28,000 acres. There is a tropical dry forest in Puerto Rico called the Guanica Dry Forest. The Guanica Dry Forest covers 9,000 acres. There are approximately four mangrove forests in Puerto Rico. There are several different types of plants found 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, melaleucas, reeds, saltbush, ferns, and hibiscus. In the tropical dry forest (Guanica Dry Forest), plants typically include palms, lotus, ironwood, acacia, pepper, cotton, and ceiba trichastandra. El Yunque (the rainforest of Puerto Rico) is quite in the middle of paper...ever, Puerto Rico's one and only rainforest, El Yunque, collects the most rainwater over a period of a year. El Yunque receives more than 100 billion gallons of rainwater per year. Then, of course, there are coral reefs and seagrass beds which are aquatic ecosystems. The similarities and differences within Puerto Rico's major tropical ecosystems are astonishing. All ecosystems are extremely unique in their own way. Diversity in all major ecosystems is high and this is due to the different ecosystems of which they constitute. Just looking at what each ecosystem represents, 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). This is all extremely fascinating and important in making Puerto Rico such an individual island..