The Chiapas montane forests is a tropical moist 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 ...

in southern

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 ...

and extending into western Guatemala. It includes the montane tropical forests on the northern and northeastern slopes of the Chiapas Highlands.

Geography

The Chiapas montane forests lie on the northern and northeastern slopes of the Chiapas highlands, between the lowland

Petén–Veracruz moist forests The Petén–Veracruz moist forests is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest biome found in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. Setting The Petén–Veracruz moist forests cover an area of , extending from central Verac ...

to the north and east and the

Central American pine–oak forests The Central American pine–oak forests is a tropical and subtropical coniferous forests ecoregion in the mountains of northern Central America and Chiapas state in southern Mexico. Setting The Central American pine–oak forests occupy an are ...

in the higher mountains to the south.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is tropical and humid. The forests have a cooler climate than the adjacent lowlands, and average annual temperatures decrease with elevation.

Flora

The predominant plant community is mountain cloud forest. Characteristic tree species include majagua ('' Trichospermum mexicanum''), American sweetgum (''Liquidambar styraciflua'') and

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

(''Alnus'' sp). There are approximately 98,050 hectares of primary forest, and 272,991 hectares of second-growth forest. Wiken, Ed, Francisco Jiménez Nava, and Glenn Griffith. 2011. ''North American Terrestrial Ecoregions—Level III''. Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Montreal, Canada.

Fauna

Native animals include

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

(''Canis latrans'') and

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

(''Odocoileus virginianus''),

mountain trogon The mountain trogon (''Trogon mexicanus''), also known as the Mexican trogon, is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. First described by William John Swainson in 1827, it is resident in Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico and has occurred ...

(''Trogon mexicanus''), Steller's jay (''Cyanocitta stelleri''),

Stuart's burrowing snake Stuart's burrowing snake (''Adelphicos veraepacis'') is a species of colubrid snake. It is endemic to the Guatemala, where it can be found in pine-oak and cloud forests on Sierra de las Minas, the Cuilco Mountains, Sierra de los Cuchumatanes a ...

(''Adelphicos veraepacis''), and

Godman's pit viper ''Cerrophidion godmani'' is a venomous pit viper species found in southern Mexico and Guatemala. No subspecies are currently recognized. It is also known as the Godman's montane pit viperCampbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of ...

(''Bothrops godmani'').

Protected areas

A 2017 assessment found 273 km², or 5%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include Nahá Flora and Fauna Protection Area,

Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve is a protected natural area in Chiapas state of southern Mexico. The reserve protects 3312 km2 of the Lacandon Jungle, a lowland tropical rainforest. Geography Montes Azules Biosphere reserve adjoins Lacan-Tun B ...

, and

Lagunas de Montebello National Park Lagunas de Montebello, or Montebello Lakes, ( es, Parque Nacional Lagunas de Montebello) is a national park in the Mexican state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala, comprising 59 multi-colored lakes in a pine forest and two Maya ruins. ...

."Chiapas montane forests". DOPA Explorer. Accessed 26 September 2021

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External links

References

{{coord missing, Mexico Chiapas Highlands Ecoregions of Mexico Ecoregions of Guatemala Montane forests Natural history of Chiapas Neotropical tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Cloud forests of Mexico