The Yucatán dry forests is a

tropical dry broadleaf forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

in southern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It includes the dry forests of the northwestern

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

Geography

The Yucatán dry forests occupy the northwestern portion of the Yucatán Peninsula. They cover most of the state of

Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...

, the northern portion of

Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...

, and small areas of northwestern

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 administrative divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into municipalities of ...

. It is bounded on the east and south by the Yucatán moist forests ecoregion. The

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

lies to the north and west, and the coast is fringed with

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s. The region is mostly flat, lying below 400 meters elevation. The underlying rocks are porous limestone and coral, and the region has extensive underground drainage, including caverns and sinkholes, with few surface streams or rivers. The cities of Mérida and

are located in the ecoregion.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is tropical and subhumid. Rainfall is less than 1200 mm per year, with a long dry season.

Flora

The predominant vegetation is open-canopied dry forest and thorn scrub. Most trees and shrubs are deciduous, losing their leaves during the long dry season.

Cacti A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

are common, particularly nearer the coast. Grassy and herbaceous understory plants are generally sparse. In the drier central portion of the ecoregion, ('' Lysiloma bahamensis'') and jabín ('' Piscidia piscipula'') are the predominant trees, with '' Alvaradoa amorphoides,

Bursera simaruba ''Bursera simaruba'', commonly known as gumbo-limbo, the tourist tree, copperwood, almácigo, chaca, West Indian birch, naked Indian, and turpentine tree, is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to the Neotropics, from South Florid ...

, Cedrela mexicana, Chlorophora tinctoria, Cordia gerascanthus'', and '' Lonchocarpus rugosus''. Elsewhere '' Vitex gaumeri,

Brosimum alicastrum ''Brosimum alicastrum'', commonly known as breadnut, Maya nut or ramon, and many others, is a tree species in the family Moraceae of flowering plants, whose other genera include figs and mulberries. Two subspecies are commonly recognized: * ''B. ...

, Caesalpinia gaumeri,

Cedrela odorata ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina ...

Ceiba pentandra ''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order (biology), order Malvales and the family (biology), family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, ...

'', and '' Sideroxylon foetidissimum'' are common. Along the northern coast tall columnar cacti are abundant. Common species include '' Cephalocereus gaumeri, Pterocereus gaumeri'', and '' Lemaireocereus griseus''. About 10% of plants are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the ecoregion. The tropical moist forests to the south isolate the Yucatán dry forests from other dry forest ecoregions in Mexico and Central America.

Fauna

Approximately 96 mammal species are native to the ecoregion. These include the

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

(''Panthera onca''),

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 ''antoon'', ''gato solo'', ''pi ...

(''Nasua narica''),

black-handed spider monkey Geoffroy's spider monkey (''Ateles geoffroyi''), also known as the black-handed spider monkey or the Central American spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central America, parts of Mexico and possibly a ...

(''Ateles geoffroyi''), and southern opossum (''Didelphis marsupialis''). Over 290 bird species inhabit the ecoregion, with two endemic species. Resident birds include white-fronted amazon (''Amazona albifrons'') and

lesser yellow-headed vulture The lesser yellow-headed vulture (''Cathartes burrovianus'') also known as the savannah vulture, is a species of bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae. It was considered to be the same species as the greater yellow-headed vulture unt ...

(''Cathartes burrovianus''). Native reptiles include the

Mexican beaded lizard The Mexican beaded lizard (''Heloderma horridum'') or beaded lizard is a species of lizard in the family Helodermatidae, one of the two species of venomous beaded lizards found principally in Mexico and southern Guatemala. It and the other membe ...

(''Heloderma horridum'').

Conservation and protected areas

Extensive areas of dry forest have been cleared for cattle ranching and for agriculture, including henequén plantations. A 2017 assessment found that only 278 km², or 3%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include

Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve () (established 2004) is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. The reserve is located at the eastern end of the coastal strip of the Yucatán Peninsula, with the Gulf of Mexico at its norther ...

Los Petenes Biosphere Reserve Los Petenes Biosphere Reserve () is a biosphere reserve in Mexico. It is located on the western Yucatán Peninsula in the state of Campeche. The reserve is home to extensive mangrove wetlands, and rich in birds and other wildlife. Geography The r ...

, Anillo de Cenotes State Reserve, Dzilam State Reserve, and Puuc Biocultural State Reserve.

External links

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of Mexico Natural history of the Yucatán Peninsula Natural history of Yucatán Natural history of Campeche Neotropical dry broadleaf forests