The Balsas dry forests is a tropical dry broadleaf forest

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

located in western and central

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Geography

The Balsas dry forests occupy the basin of the

Balsas River The Balsas River (Spanish Río Balsas, also locally known as the Mezcala River, or Atoyac River) is a major river of south-central Mexico. The basin flows through the states of Guerrero, México, Morelos, and Puebla. Downstream of Ciudad Alta ...

. The ecoregion covers an area of . The Balsas basin, and the Balsas dry forests, extend east and west between the ranges of the

Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt ( es, Eje Volcánico Transversal), also known as the Transvolcanic Belt and locally as the (''Snowy Mountain Range''), is an active volcanic belt that covers central-southern Mexico. Several of its highest peaks h ...

to the north and the Sierra Madre del Sur to the south. The Balsas dry forests ecoregion extends across portions of the states of Michoacán,

Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...

, Morelos, Puebla, and

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

surrounding ecoregions

The surrounding mountains are home to pine-oak forests: the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests to the north and northwest, the

Sierra Madre del Sur pine-oak forests Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...

to the south, and the

Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine-oak forests Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...

to the east. The

xeric Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...

Tehuacán Valley matorral The Tehuacán Valley matorral is a xeric shrubland ecoregion, of the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in eastern Tehuacan, Central Mexico. Matorral is a Spanish language, Spanish word, along with ''tomillares'', for shrubland, thicke ...

lies to the northeast. The Balsas dry forests meet the coastal

Southern Pacific dry forests The Southern Pacific dry forests is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in southern Mexico. Geography The Southern Pacific dry forests occupy the coastal lowlands and foothills along the Pacific coast of Southern Mexico. The Balsas River m ...

where the Balsas breaks through the Sierra Madre del Sur on its way to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

Climate

The climate of the Balsas dry forests is tropical and subhumid. Rainfall is less than 120 centimeters (47 inches) per year and seasonal, with a dry season that can last up to eight months.

Flora

Plant communities include tropical deciduous forest (''selva baja caducifolia'' or ''bosque tropical caducifolio'') and thorn forest (''bosque espinoso''), with tropical semideciduous forest (''selva mediana subcaducifolia'' or ''subperennifolia'') in drainages and other areas with deeper soils and more soil moisture.Emily J. Lott, Thomas H. Atkinson (2006). "Mexican and Central American Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests: Chamela-Cuixmala, Jalisco, as a Focal Point for Comparison." in R. Toby Pennington, Gwilym P. Lewis, James A. Ratter, eds. ''Neotropical Savannas and Seasonally Dry Forests: Plant Diversity, Biogeography, and Conservation.'' CRC Press, Boca Raton. DOI https://doi.org/10.1201/9781420004496 Characteristic trees include several species of ''

Bursera ''Bursera'' is a genus with about 100 described species of flowering shrubs and trees varying in size up to high. It is the type genus for Burseraceae. The trees are native (often for many species endemic) to the Americas, from the southern Uni ...

'' – ''Bursera longipes, B. morelensis, B.odorata'', etc. – commonly known as ''palo mulato'', fragrant bursera (''

Bursera fagaroides ''Bursera fagaroides'' is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Bursera'' known by the common names torchwood copal and fragrant bursera.

''), and chupandra (''

Cyrtocarpa procera The Chupandia (''Cyrtocarpa procera'') is a tropical species of tree in the sumac family which is found throughout Mexico. It has been cultivated since ancient times, and its edible fruit is still popular in Mexico today. Its bark is used as a su ...

''). Other common trees include pochote (''

Ceiba parvifolia ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, la ...

''), brasiletto or mexican logwood (''

Haematoxylum brasiletto ''Haematoxylum brasiletto'', or Mexican logwood, is a species of tropical hardwood tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is known in its native Mexico and Guatemala as "palo de brasil" or "palo de tinto". The timber is used to make bows for s ...

''), ''

Lysiloma microphylla ''Lysiloma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus is native to the Americas, and species range from Arizona and New Mexico through Mexico and Central America to Costa Rica, and in Florida, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Bahama ...

'', and cazahuate ('' Ipomoea murucoides''). Cacti are common, including species of '' Pachycereus'' and ''

Cephalocereus ''Cephalocereus'' is a genus of slow-growing, columnar-shaped, blue-green cacti. The genus is native to Mexico. Description These cacti show a columnar and upright growth habit, and may be branched or unbranched reaching heights of 10 to 12 met ...

''.World Wildlife Fund (2014). Balsas dry forests. ed. Mark McGinley & C. Michael Hogan. Encyclopedia of Earth. NCSE. Washington DC. Retrieved from http://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Balsas_dry_forests. Accessed 2 August 2022. The herbaceous layer is generally sparse, with the grasses sideoats grama (''

Bouteloua curtipendula ''Bouteloua curtipendula'', commonly known as sideoats grama, is a perennial, short prairie grass that is native throughout the temperate and tropical Western Hemisphere, from Canada south to Argentina. The species epithet comes from Latin "sh ...

''), Rothrock's grama ('' Bouteloua barbata'' var. ''rothrockii''), and '' Hilaria semplei''. The Balsas dry forests share many species in common with Mexico's Pacific coastal dry forests. Many plant species are endemic to the ecoregion. About 45% of the species at a site in Cañón del Zopilote, Guerrero, and 30% of species at a site in Infiernillo, Michoacán are found only in the Balsas basin. About half of the 45 species of ''

'' found in the ecoregion are endemic. The ecoregion is also home to diverse species of '' Brongniartia'', ''

Desmodium ''Desmodium'' is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae, sometimes called tick-trefoil, tick clover, hitch hikers or beggar lice. There are dozens of species and the delimitation of the genus has shifted much over time. These are mostly ...

'', ''

Ipomoea ''Ipomoea'' () is the largest genus in the plant family Convolvulaceae, with over 600 species. It is a large and diverse group, with common names including morning glory, water convolvulus or water spinach, sweet potato, bindweed, moonfl ...

'', and ''

Mammillaria ''Mammillaria'' is one of the largest genera in the cactus family (Cactaceae), with currently 200 known species and varieties recognized. Most of the mammillaria are native to Mexico, but some come from the southwest United States, the Caribbea ...

''.

Fauna

Native mammals include the jaguar (''Pantera onca''), jaguarundi (''Herpailurus yagouaroundi''), ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis''),

collared peccary The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus ''Dicotyles''. They are commonly referred to as ...

(''Tayassu tajacu''), coyote (''Canis latrans''), grey fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''),

white-nosed coati The white-nosed coati (''Nasua narica''), also known as the coatimundi (), is a species of coati and a member of the family Procyonidae (raccoons and their relatives). Local Spanish names for the species include ''pizote'', ''antoon'', and ''te ...

(''Nasua narica''), and

silky pocket mouse The silky pocket mouse (''Perognathus flavus'') is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in northern and central Mexico and the southwest region of the United States. It is a species of least concern, according to the IUCN, ...

(''Perognathus flavus''),

California myotis The California myotis (''Myotis californicus'') is a species of vesper bat. It is found in British Columbia in Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, and in the western United States, including California. Description The California myotis is a small (70– ...

(''Myotis californicus''),

long-legged myotis The long-legged myotis (''Myotis volans'') is a species of vesper bat that can be found in western Canada, Mexico, and the western United States. Description ''Myotis volans'' is a species of bat found in Order Chiroptera, Family Vespertillion ...

(''Myotis volans'') and western yellow bat (''

Dasypterus xanthinus The western yellow bat (''Dasypterus xanthinus'') is a species of vesper bat found in Mexico and the southwestern United States. This species roosts in trees such as ''Populus fremontii'', ''Platanus wrightii'', and ''Quercus arizonica''. If ...

''). The Balsas screech owl (''Megascops seductus''),

banded quail The banded quail (''Philortyx fasciatus'') is a species of bird in the family Odontophoridae. It is found only in Mexico where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tr ...

(''Philortyx fasciatus''), black-chested sparrow (''Peucaea humeralis''), and

dusky hummingbird The dusky hummingbird (''Phaeoptila sordida'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Mexico. Taxonomy and systematics The dusky hummingbird was formerly placed in the genus ...

(''Phaeoptila sordida'') are near-endemic bird species.BirdLife International (2022) Endemic Bird Areas factsheet: Balsas region and interior Oaxaca. Accessed 2 August 2022

Portions of the ecoregion are part of several Important Bird Areas, including Sierra de Taxco–

Nevado de Toluca Nevado de Toluca () is a stratovolcano in central Mexico, located about west of Mexico City near the city of Toluca. It is the fourth highest of Mexico's peaks, after Pico de Orizaba, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. The volcano and the area ar ...

, Cañón del Zopilote, Valle de Tehuacán–Cuicatlán, Cañón de Lobos,

Sierra de Huautla The Sierra de Huautla is a mountain range and biosphere reserve in central Mexico. Located in southern Morelos, the Sierra de Huautla is a southern extension of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt range into the Balsas Basin. The dry forests of Sierr ...

, and Papalutla-Tecaballo.

Protected areas

10.9% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. A 2017 assessment found that 1,451 km², or 4%, of the ecoregion was protected.Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b

/ref> Protected areas include: * Boquerón de Tonalá Flora and Fauna Protection Area * Chichinautzin Biological Corridor Flora and Fauna Protection Area * El Tepozteco National Park * Grutas de Cacahuamilpa National Park *

Sierra de Huautla Biosphere Reserve The Sierra de Huautla is a mountain range and biosphere reserve in central Mexico. Located in southern Morelos, the Sierra de Huautla is a southern extension of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt range into the Balsas Basin. The dry forests of Sier ...

* Sierra de Nanchititla Natural Park *

Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve The Tehuacán-Cuicatlán biosphere reserve is a protected natural area located in southeastern Mexico. Its name derives from its two main locations: Cuicatlán and Tehuacán, in the latter are their administrative offices, covers 490,186 hectares d ...

* Zicuirán-Infiernillo Biosphere Reserve

External links

* *

References

{{reflist Neotropical dry broadleaf forests Ecoregions of Mexico Forests of Mexico Natural history of Jalisco Natural history of Morelos Natural history of Michoacán Natural history of Guerrero Natural history of Puebla