La Sepultura is a
biosphere reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
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 ...
. It protects a portion of the
Sierra Madre de Chiapas
The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is a major mountain range in Central America. It crosses El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras. The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges that consists of an almos ...
range in the state of
Chiapas
Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
.
Geography
La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve covers the western end of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas. The
, a
natural resources protection area, lies east of la Sepultura, covering the northern slopes of the Sierra.
[
The northern slopes of the Sierra descend to the Chiapas Depression, which is drained by the ]Grijalva River
Grijalva River, formerly known as ''Tabasco River'', ( es, Río Grijalva, known locally also as Río Grande de Chiapas, Río Grande and Mezcalapa River) is a long river in southeastern Mexico."Grijalva." ''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Diction ...
and its tributaries, including the La Venta River, which eventually empty into the Gulf of Mexico. The southern slopes are drained by numerous smaller rivers and streams which descend to the narrow coastal plain and empty into 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 continen ...
.
Flora and fauna
La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve is home to a range of ecosystems, which vary with elevation, exposure, and soils. These include lowland deciduous forest or tropical dry forest, mid-elevation evergreen tropical forest, including areas of humid cloud forest, and montane pine–oak forests, which include pine–oak, pine–oak–liquidambar, and pine savanna. Native trees include ''Ulmus mexicana
''Ulmus mexicana'', the Mexican elm, is a large tree endemic to Mexico and Central America. It is most commonly found in cloud forest and the higher elevations () of tropical rain forest with precipitation levels of per year,Moreira, I. & Arnaez ...
, Manilkara zapota
''Manilkara zapota'', commonly known as sapodilla (), sapote, naseberry, nispero or chicle, is a long-lived, evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An example natural occurrence is in coastal Yucatán in the ...
, Triplaris melaenodendron
''Triplaris'' is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae. Ant tree is a common name for plants in this genus.
The species are variously distributed in the Americas. Some species are used for lumber. They are dioecious pioneer species.
Sp ...
, Cedrela odorata
''Cedrela odorata'' is a commercially important species of tree in the chinaberry family, Meliaceae, commonly known as Spanish cedar or Cuban cedar; it is also known as cedro in Spanish.
Classification
The genus ''Cedrela'' has undergone two m ...
, Liquidambar styraciflua
American sweetgum (''Liquidambar styraciflua''), also known as American storax, hazel pine, bilsted, redgum, satin-walnut, star-leaved gum, alligatorwood, or simply sweetgum, is a deciduous tree in the genus ''Liquidambar'' native to warm temper ...
, 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 ...
'', and '' Croton guatemalensis''.["La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve, Mexico". UNESCO, October 2018. Accessed 1 October 2021]
/ref>
The ecoregion is home to five species of cats, including jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
(''Panthera onca''), puma
Puma or PUMA may refer to:
Animals
* ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae
** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat
Businesses and organisations
* Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company
* Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...
(''Puma concolor''), jaguarundi
The jaguarundi (''Herpailurus yagouaroundi'') is a wild cat native to the Americas. Its range extends from central Argentina in the south to northern Mexico, through Central and South America east of the Andes. The jaguarundi is a medium-sized ...
(''Herpailurus yagouaroundi''), ocelot
The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southwes ...
(''Leopardus pardalis''), and oncilla
The oncilla (''Leopardus tigrinus''), also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo, is a small spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the popul ...
(''Leopardus tigrinus''). Other mammals include spider monkey
Spider monkeys are New World monkeys belonging to the genus ''Ateles'', part of the subfamily Atelinae, family Atelidae. Like other atelines, they are found in tropical forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil. The g ...
, Baird's tapir
The Baird's tapir (''Tapirus bairdii''), also known as the Central American tapir, is a species of tapir native to Mexico, Central America, and northwestern South America. It is the largest of the three species of tapir native to the Americas, as ...
(''Tapirus bairdii''), brocket deer
Brockets or brocket deer are the species of deer in the genus ''Mazama''. They are medium to small in size, and are found in the Yucatán Peninsula, Central and South America, and the island of Trinidad. Most species are primarily found in forest ...
(''Mazama'' sp.), and northern tamandua
The northern tamandua (''Tamandua mexicana'') is a species of tamandua, an anteater in the family Myrmecophagidae. They live in tropical and subtropical forests from southern Mexico, through Central America, and to the edge of the northern Andes ...
anteater (''Tamandua mexicana''). Resident birds include the white-fronted parrot (''Amazona albifrons'') and yellow-naped parrot
The yellow-naped amazon or yellow-naped parrot (''Amazona auropalliata'') is a widespread amazon parrot sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the yellow-crowned amazon (''Amazona ochrocephala'').. It inhabits the Pacific coast of southern M ...
(''Amazona auropalliata''), and the raptors gray hawk
The gray hawk (''Buteo plagiatus'') or Mexican goshawk is a smallish raptor found in open country and forest edges. It is sometimes placed in the genus ''Asturina'' as ''Asturina plagiata''. The species was split by the American Ornithological So ...
(''Buteo plagiatus''), Swainson's hawk
Swainson's hawk (''Buteo swainsoni'') is a large bird species in the Accipitriformes order. This species was named after William Swainson, a British naturalist. It is colloquially known as the grasshopper hawk or locust hawk, as it is very fond ...
(''Buteo swainsoni''), solitary eagle
The solitary eagle or montane solitary eagle (''Buteogallus solitarius'') is a large Neotropical eagle. It is also known as the black solitary eagle.
Range and habitat
The solitary eagle is native to Mexico and Central and South America. It i ...
(''Buteogallus solitarius''), king vulture
The king vulture (''Sarcoramphus papa'') is a large bird found in Central and South America. It is a member of the New World vulture family Cathartidae. This vulture lives predominantly in tropical lowland forests stretching from southern Mexic ...
(''Sarcoramphus papa''), and peregrine falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...
(''Falco peregrinus''). 90 species of migratory birds visit the reserve.[
]
Conservation
In 1995 the Mexican government designated a portion of La Sepultura as a strict nature reserve, covering an area of 18.12 km2,[UNEP-WCMC (2021). Protected Area Profile for La Sepultura from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accessed 1 October 2021]
/ref> and an area of 112.14 km2 was designated for ecological conservation.[UNEP-WCMC (2021). Protected Area Profile for La Sepultura from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accessed 1 October 2021]
/ref>
The biosphere reserve was designated by UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
in 2006. It covers 1673.1 km2, which includes the strict nature reserve (known as the core zone or ''zona nucleo''), the ecological conservation area, and a portion of the Zona de Protección Forestal.[
Portions of the reserve are inhabited, often with traditional forms of land ownership and management. Local economic activities include animal husbandry, agriculture (maize, beans, and other crops), coffee growing, and timber harvesting. Local people also harvest forest products like pine resin and xate palm leaves ('']Chamaedorea
''Chamaedorea'' is a genus of 107 species of palms, native to subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas.Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, palms checklist''Chamaedorea''/ref>Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan ...
'' spp.).[
]
References
{{reflist
Biosphere reserves of Mexico
Protected areas of Chiapas
Sierra Madre de Chiapas
Important Bird Areas of Mexico
Central American pine–oak forests
Southern Pacific dry forests