Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine–oak forests

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Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine–oak forests
pine–oak forest in Iztaccíhuatl–Popocatépetl National Park, Puebla state
Location of the ecoregion
Ecology
RealmNeotropical
BiomeTropical and subtropical coniferous forests
Borders
List
Geography
Area92,503 km2 (35,716 sq mi)
CountryMexico
States
List
Conservation
Conservation statusCritical/endangered[2]
Protected17.85%[1]

The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine–oak forests is a subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt of central Mexico.

Setting

The Volcano rabbit inhabits the region

The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine–oak forests occupy an area of 92,503 square kilometers (35,716 sq mi), extending from Jalisco state in the west to Veracruz in the east.

The main mass of the volcanic belt extends east to west through the states of Jalisco, Michoacán, México, Morelos, Tlaxcala, Puebla, and Veracruz. The ecoregion includes the smaller mountain ranges which rise from the Mexican Plateau, including the Sierra de Santa Rosa, Sierra de Lobos, and Sierra de Pénjamo in Guanajuato, and northwards to El Gogorrón National Park in San Luis Potosí.

The pine–oak forests are surrounded by

Rio Lerma. The Central Mexican matorral lies to the north of the range in the high basins of the Plateau, including the Valley of Mexico and the upper reaches of the Lerma around Toluca. The Tehuacán Valley matorral lies in the rain shadow valley to the southeast in Puebla and Tlaxcala states. To the east, the moist Veracruz montane forests and Oaxacan montane forests are the transition between the pine–oak forests and the lowland tropical forests along the Gulf of Mexico
.

Pockets of montane grassland and shrubland can be found among the pine–oak forests, and constitute a separate ecoregion, the Zacatonal.

Flora

The chief plant communities are pine forests, pine–oak forests, oak forests, pine–cedar forests, and pine–fir forests. The plant communities vary with elevation and rainfall.

Pine forests are generally found between 2,275 and 2,600 m. Pine–oak forests occur between 2,470 and 2,600 m. Pine–cedar forests can be found above 2,700 m. Pine–fir forests occur above 3000 m.

In the pine forests, Montezuma pine (

Hartweg's pine (P. hartwegii) and P. tecote
in dry areas with shallow soils.

Pine–fir forests are composed almost entirely of Hartweg's pine (Pinus hartwegii) and sacred fir (Abies religiosa).

The western portion of the ecoregion, in western Jalisco and Colima states, is home to several endemic species.[3] Quercus iltisii is found in the mountains of Jalisco and Colima.[4] Quercus cualensis is known only from the Sierra el Cuale in western Jalisco between 1,800 and 2,300 meters elevation, and is endangered.[5] Quercus tuitensis is found only in the lower montane forests of Jalisco's Sierra el Tuito. Magnolia iltisiana is found in the Manantlán and Cacoma sierras of Jalisco and near Morelia in Michoacán. Acer binzayedii is known only from the Sierra de Manantlán. Pinus jaliscana is also endemic to western Jalisco, where it is found mostly in the Sierra el Cuale and Sierra el Tuito.

Fauna

The

grey-barred wren (Campylorhynchus megalopterus).[2]

The volcano rabbit (Romerolagus diazi) and the Mexican volcano mouse (Neotomodon alstoni) are endemic to the ecoregion.

Monarch butterflies

The Volcanic Belt pine–oak forests of eastern

Mariposa Monarca Biosphere Reserve is within this habitat
.

Protected areas

17.85% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include:[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests". DOPA Explorer. Accessed 7 September 2021. [1]
  2. ^ a b "Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  3. ^ Rodríguez, A., Castro-Castro, A., Vargas-Amado, G., Vargas-Ponce, O., Zamora-Tavares, P., González-Gallegos, J., Carrillo-Reyes, P., Anguiano-Constante, M., Carrasco-Ortiz, M., García-Martínez, M., Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, B., Aragón-Parada, J., Valdes-Ibarra, C. and Munguía-Lino, G. (2018), Richness, geographic distribution patterns, and areas of endemism of selected angiosperm groups in Mexico. Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 56: 537-549. https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.12457
  4. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T78924006A78966942.en
    . Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  5. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T194105A2299318.en
    . Retrieved 8 August 2022.
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