The Bajío dry forests is a tropical dry broadleaf forest

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 western−central

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 ...

Geography

The Bajío dry forests lie in the southwestern portion of the

Mexican Plateau The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano (), is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico. Averaging above sea level, it extends from the United States border in the north to the T ...

. They are bounded on the southeast, south, and southwest by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests, which occupy the folded mountains and volcanoes of the

Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (), 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 have snow all year long, and dur ...

that form the southern edge of the Mexican Plateau. The Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests of the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...

bound the ecoregion on the northwest. The numerous mountains of the plateau which rise above the dry forests are occupied by sky islands of pine-oak forest. To the north, the Bajío dry forests transition to the drier, more temperate Central Mexican matorral. Most of the ecoregion lies within the basin of the

Lerma River The Lerma River () is Mexico's second longest river. It is a river in west-central Mexico that begins in Mexican Plateau at an altitude over above sea level, and ends where it empties into Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest lake, near Guadalajara, ...

, and the dry forests extend around

Lake Chapala Lake Chapala (, ) has been Mexico's largest freshwater lake since the desiccation of Lake Texcoco in the early 17th century. It borders both the states of Jalisco and Michoacán, being located within the municipalities of Ocotlán, Jalisco, ...

at the eastern end of the region, and into the

endorheic basin An endorheic basin ( ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans); instead, the water drainage flows into permanent ...

s of Lake Cuitzeo and Lake Pátzcuaro in the south. The cities of

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid; Otomi language, Otomi: ) is a city and municipal seat of the municipalities of Mexico, municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. It is both th ...

, and

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

lie within the ecoregion.

Fauna

Native mammals include Mexican wolf ''(Canus lupus baileyi)'' and pocketed free-tailed bat ''(Nyctinomops femorosaccus).'' Birds include the black-throated magpie-jay ''(Calocitta colliei),'' thick-billed kingbird ''(Tyrannus crassirostris),'' whiskered screech owl ''(Otus trichopsus),'' orange-fronted parakeet ''(Aratinga caniculanis),'' dwarf vireo ''(Vireo nelsoni)'', and black-polled yellowthroat ''(Geothlypis speciosa).''

Development

The ecoregion is densely populated, and centuries of human use have reduced the dry forests to small pockets. Dry deciduous forest used to be the dominant vegetation, but thorn scrub and subtropical matorral are now more common, interspersed with agricultural and pasture lands.

Protected areas

7.52% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include Cerro de Las Campanas National Park, El Cimatario National Park, Lago de Camécuaro National Park, La Primavera Flora and Fauna Protection Area, Siete Luminarias Natural Monument, and Sierra del Águila Protected Area.

External links

References