The Pine–oak Forest of Puebla covers the mass of pine and oak forests in the
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
state of
Puebla
Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...
.
Preamble
Due to the geographical location of
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 ...
, the middle part of the country runs through the
Tropic of Cancer
The Tropic of Cancer, also known as the Northern Tropic, is the Earth's northernmost circle of latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun ...
; as such, it is located in an area of contact between
boreal
Boreal, northern, of the north. Derived from the name of the god of the north wind from Ancient Greek civilisation, Boreas (god), Boreas. It may also refer to:
Climatology and geography
*Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernand ...
and tropical floras. Because of its shape, climate, topography, geology and soil, it contains a great floristic diversity and a diversity in types of vegetation. The diversity of these ecological factors explains why in Mexico there are nearly all of the plant formations observed worldwide.
The diversity of plant communities is not only due to ecological characteristics, but also from historical and evolutionary aspects. The fact that the country is in the contact area of the boreal and tropical floras allows for the development of communities where both floras fight to excel, having developed indigenous communities. Generally, it can be considered that the distribution of vegetation in Mexico is conditioned, in the first instance, by climate factors. Although frequently, geological, edaphic or topographic nature plays a very important role.
The
pine–oak forest
Pine–oak forest, pine–oak woodland, or oak–pine forest is a group of similar of ecosystems, primarily found in North and Central America. These areas are dominated by pine and oak trees. Under the Forest-Range Environmental Study Ecosystem ...
is a
biome
A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...
characterized by the abundance of certain species of pine and oak, of the genus ''
Pinus
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.
''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as c ...
'' and ''
Quercus
An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
'' respectively.
Characteristics
The pine-oak forest develops at altitudes between 1600 and 3000 meters, where the climate is temperate and humid with summer rain, with temperatures ranging between 16 and 20 degrees Celsius (which are likely to fall), and with rainfall that varies between 700 and 1500mm.
In this type of forest, many different types of rock can be found: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. The soil in which they are located is thin and poorly developed, being principally litosol, regosol, and cambisol. Though, they are also located on soil originating from volcanic ash, such as andosol. Pines and firs (better known as Christmas trees) are characteristic of the pine-oak forest.
Tetela de Ocampo
Tetela de Ocampo is a town in Tetela de Ocampo Municipality in the Sierra Norte region of the Mexican state of Puebla. "Tetela" is a name of Nahuatl origin, containing the elements ''tetl'' (hill) and ''tla'' (many): it thus means "place of man ...
, this type of forest is dispersed as isolated spots and is formed, in the tree layer (over 15m high), by species like red ocote (''
Pinus patula
''Pinus patula'', commonly known as patula pine, spreading-leaved pine, or Mexican weeping pine, and in Spanish as ''pino patula'' or ''pino llorón'', (''patula'' Latin = "spreading") is a tree native to the highlands of Mexico. It grows from ...
''), Chinese ocote (''
Pinus leiophylla
''Pinus leiophylla'', commonly known as Chihuahua pine, smooth-leaf pine,''Pinus leiophylla'' was originally described and published in ''Linnaea'' 6:354. 1831. and yellow pine (in Mexico, tlacocote and ocote chino), is a tree with a range prima ...
''), ocote (''
Pinus montezumae
''Pinus montezumae'', known as the Montezuma pine, is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is native to Mexico and Central America, where it is one of many pines known as ocote.
Description
The tree grows about 35 m high and 80& ...
''), and broadleaf oak (''
Quercus crassifolia
''Quercus crassifolia'' is a species of oak. It is widespread in Mexico from Sonora and Chihuahua to Veracruz and Chiapas.Alnus jorullensis
''Alnus jorullensis'', commonly known as Mexican alder, is an evergreen or semi-evergreen alder, native to eastern and southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. Although previously reported from the Andes, further collections showed these to be t ...
'') and the strawberry tree (''
Arbutus xalapensis
''Arbutus xalapensis'', commonly known as the Texas madrone, Amazaquitl, or Texas madroño, is a species of flowering plant in the heather family. It is native to Central America, the southwestern United States (western Texas and New Mexico), an ...
''). In the lower layer (at less than 1m), there is broom or tepopote ('' Baccharis conferta'') and ''
Pteridium
Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that undergo alternation of generations, having both large plants that produce spores and small plants that prod ...
'' sp. The distribution of species in this type of forest varies from factors such as exposure, moisture, temperature, and wind. In the east/northeast, where the humidity and temperature are high, pinus patula predominates the top tier. In contrast, at lower altitude and with the same exposure, you can find ''
Cornus disciflora
''Cornus disciflora'' is a species of flowering plant native to Mexico and Central America.
Description
''Cornus disciflora'' is a small to a large tree, growing from 6 to 25 meters tall. It flowers from January to July and September to Decembe ...
, Garrya laurifolia'', Mexican Clethra, and ferns in the lowest layer. In this exposition, where humidity is low and temperature is high, the Chinese ocote (''Pinus leiophylla'') dominates.
In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, in the Malintzin and Citlaltépetl volcanoes, between 2500 and 3000 meters above sea level, the arboreal layer above 32m is dominated by the red torch pine (''Pinus patula''), fir (''
Abies religiosa
''Abies religiosa'', the oyamel fir or sacred fir, (known as in Spanish) is a fir native to the mountains of central and southern Mexico ( Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Sierra Madre del Sur) and western Guatemala. It grows at high elevations o ...
Pinus ayacahuite
''Pinus ayacahuite'', also called ayacahuite pine and Mexican white pine, (family Pinaceae) is a species of pine native to the mountains of southern Mexico and western Central America, in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains and the eastern end o ...
''); in the 10m layer you can find laurelillo (''
Quercus laurina
''Quercus laurina'' is a species of oak. It is native primarily to Mexico (from Tamaulipas to Chiapas) and has also been found in Guatemala and El Salvador.Arbutus glandulosa''); in the 4.5m layer you can find '' Salix paradoxa'', brush ('' Ageratina glabratum''), wild cherry (''
Prunus capuli
''Prunus serotina'', commonly called black cherry,World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub in the r ...
''), alder (''Alnus jorullensis''), and strawberry trees (''Arbutus glandulosa''); in the 0.5m layer you find ''Baccharis conferta'', sage (''Salvia'' sp.), topozán ('' Buddleja cordata''), grass (''
Bromus
''Bromus'' is a large genus of grasses, classified in its own tribe Bromeae. They are commonly known as bromes, brome grasses, cheat grasses, or chess grasses. Estimates in the scientific literature of the number of species have ranged from 100 ...
'' sp.) and fern (''
Adiantum capillus-veneris
''Adiantum capillus-veneris'', the Southern maidenhair fern, black maidenhair fern, maidenhair fern, and venus hair fern, is a species of ferns in the genus ''Adiantum'' and the family Pteridaceae with a subcosmopolitan worldwide distribution. I ...
'').
In the southeast, from the western slopes of
Sierra de Zongolica
The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca is a mountain range in southeastern 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 sout ...
until the municipality of Nicolas Bravo, an area of pine-oak forest is located more than 2500 meters above sea level. In it can be found species such as ''Pinus patula'', teocote (''Pinus teocote''), white oak ('' Quercus scytophylla'') and black oak ('' Quercus conglomerata'').
Current situation
In Mexico, most of these types of forests have been intensively exploited for timber extraction in the form of logs, firewood, and charcoal. They have also been cleared to make way for agriculture or to create pastures to feed cattle and horses.