The Oaxacan montane forests is a

tropical moist broadleaf forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat (ecology), habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally foun ...

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 l ...

in eastern

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 includes a belt of montane tropical forest on the eastern slope of the

Sierra Madre de Oaxaca The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca is a mountain range in southern Mexico. It is primarily in the state of Oaxaca, and extends north into the states of Puebla and Veracruz. Geography The mountain range begins at Pico de Orizaba, and extends in a southeas ...

and eastern

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 ...

ranges. These forests lie 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 Veracr ...

and

Veracruz moist forests The Veracruz moist forests ( es, Bosques húmedos de Veracruz) is a tropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in eastern Mexico. Geography The Veracruz moist forests cover an area of , occupying a portion of Mexico's Gulf Coastal Plain between ...

, and the pine–oak forests of the higher mountains.

Geography

The Oaxacan montane forests extend along eastern mountain slopes of

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

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 ...

states. The ecoregion extends from the

Tecolutla River The Tecolutla River is a river in the state of Veracruz in Mexico, and the main drainage of the historical and cultural region of Totonacapan. It is principally fed by four rivers that rise in the Sierra Norte de Puebla: from north to south, they ...

in the north across the

Sierra de Chiconquiaco The Sierra de Chiconquiaco is a coastal mountain range in Veracruz state of eastern Mexico. Geography The Sierra extends generally east–west. It is bounded on the north by the plain of the Nautla River, which empties eastwards into the Gulf of ...

, the eastern

, and the

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is tropical, humid, and montane. The ecoregion is humid throughout the year, and temperatures remain mild, with mean annual temperature ranging from 19 °C to 17 °C, decreasing with elevation. There are three seasons: a cool season from November to March, a short warm-dry season in April and May, and a warm wet season from June to October.Williams-Linera, Guadalupe, Quetzalli Vizcaíno-Bravo (2016) "Cloud forests on rock outcrop and volcanic soil differ in indicator tree species in Veracruz, Mexico". ''Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad'' Volume 87, Issue 4, December 2016, Pages 1265-1274.

Flora

The predominant vegetation in the ecoregion is tropical montane cloud forest. The forests of the ecoregion show a great diversity in species composition and structure which vary with microclimate, elevation, and underlying soils.

Epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

s, including mosses, orchids, and ferns, are abundant. The forests include species with origins in both temperate North America (

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...

) and the tropical Americas (

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

), with high percentage (30 to 35%) of endemic species. Forest canopy trees are principally of Nearctic origin, while the subcanopy and understory species include species shared with the lowland tropics, the Andean forests of South America, and eastern Asia. Tree species found on volcanic soils include ''

Carpinus tropicalis ''Carpinus tropicalis'' is a species of tree native to central and southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Description ''Carpinus tropicalis'' is small to medium-sized tree which grows up to 30 meters tall, with a tr ...

, Cinnamomum effusum,

Clethra macrophylla ''Clethra'' is a genus of flowering shrubs or small trees described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753.Hedyosmum mexicanum,

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 ...

, Myrsine coriacea, Quercus cortesii, Quercus germana,

Quercus lancifolia ''Quercus lancifolia'' is a species of oak found in Central America and Mexico.Quercus sartorii ''Quercus sartorii'' is a species of oak tree known by the common name of Sartors oak. It is native to central and southern Mexico from Veracruz, San Luis Potosi, Hidalgo, Puebla, Oaxaca to Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and ...

Quercus xalapensis ''Quercus xalapensis'', or xalapa oak, is a species of oak in the red oak group (''Quercus'' section ''Lobatae''). It is native to the mountains of eastern and southern Mexico, as well as Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua in northern Central A ...

, Styrax glabrescens, Turpinia insignis'', and ''

Zanthoxylum melanostictum ''Zanthoxylum'' is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and climbers in the Family (biology), family Rutaceae that are native to warm temperate and Subtropics, subtropical areas worldwide. It is the type genu ...

''. Trees on limestone-derived soils include '' Arachnothryx capitellata,

Cercis canadensis ''Cercis canadensis'', the eastern redbud, is a large deciduous shrub or small tree, native to eastern North America from southern Michigan south to central Mexico, east to New Jersey. Species thrive as far west as California and as far north as ...

, Clusia guatemalensis,

Cojoba arborea ''Cojoba arborea'' (common names include algarrobo, ardillo, lorito, barba de jolote, iguano, quebracho, sang sang, tamarindo, tambrán, tuburús, and bahamas sibicú) is a leguminous tree of the family Fabaceae found in the Caribbean, Mexico, a ...

, Eugenia mexicana, Garrya laurifolia, Gymnanthes riparia, Oreopanax liebmannii,

Oreopanax xalapensis ''Oreopanax'' is a genus of shrubs and trees in the family Araliaceae, comprising circa 85 species native to the Americas. Distribution ''Oreopanax'' species' range extends from Mexico and the Antilles to Argentina and Brazil, with most species ...

Ostrya virginiana ''Ostrya virginiana'', the American hophornbeam, is a species of ''Ostrya'' native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Manitoba and eastern Wyoming, southeast to northern Florida and southwest to eastern Texas. Populations ...

Quercus pinnativenulosa ''Quercus pinnativenulosa'' is a species of oak endemic to Mexico. Description ''Quercus pinnativenulosa'' is a tree which grows from 10 to 15 meters tall, and occasionally to 20 meters. The species is part of the ''Quercus laurina'' group of oa ...

Turpinia insignis ''Turpinia'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in family Staphyleaceae, native to Asia and North, Central, and South America. Species include: * '' Turpinia affinis'' * '' Turpinia arguta'' * '' Turpinia cochinchinensis'' * '' Turpinia formosana'' ...

Wimmeria concolor ''Wimmeria'' is a genus of shrubs to small trees in the family Celastraceae. It is named after German botanist Christian Friedrich Heinrich Wimmer (1803–1868). Species :''This list may be incomplete.'' * '' Wimmeria acapulcensis'' Lundell ...

'', and '' Zanthoxylum petenense''.

Fauna

The ecoregion has 323 species of birds.Hoekstra JM, Molnar JL, Jennings M, Revenga C, Spalding MD, Boucher TM, Robertson JC, Heibel TJ, Ellison K (2010) The Atlas of Global Conservation: Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities to Make a Difference (ed. Molnar JL). Berkeley: University of California Press. The Bearded wood partridge (''Dendrortyx barbatus'') inhabits this ecoregion and the

Veracruz montane forests The Veracruz montane forests ( es, Bosques montanos de Veracruz) is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in eastern Mexico. It includes a belt of montane tropical forest on the eastern slop ...

. Hernandez-Banos, Blanca E., Peterson A. Townsend, Xavarro-Siguenza, Adolfo G., and B. Escalante-Pliego, Patricia (1995). "Bird faunas of the humid montane forests of Mesoamerica: biogeographic patterns and priorities for conservation". Bird Conservation International (1995), 5:251-277 Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/S0959270900001039 The ecoregion has 185 species of mammals, and 161 species of lizards and snakes.

Protected areas

A 2017 assessment found that about 45% of the ecoregion is still forested. 219 km², or 3%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include

Cañón del Río Blanco National Park Cañón del Río Blanco National Park is protected natural area in Mexico's Veracruz state. Geography Cañón del Río Blanco National Park covers an area of 488 km2. The park includes the upper watershed of the Río Blanco, where the river has ...

, Cerro La Galaxia Ecological Conservation Area, Cerro de las Culebras, La Martinica, and Pancho Poza ecological reserves, Río Filo-Bobos y su Entorno protected area, and the San Antonio del Barrio, Santiago Tlatepusco, La Tierra del Faisán, San Juan Teponaxtla, Santo Domingo Cacalotepec, and Nopalera del Rosario voluntary conservation areas."Oaxacan montane forests". DOPA Explorer. Accessed 10 October 2021

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External links

References

{{coord missing, Mexico Ecoregions of Mexico Montane forests Natural history of Oaxaca Natural history of Puebla Natural history of Veracruz Neotropical tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Sierra Madre de Oaxaca Cloud forests of Mexico