| Central Mexican matorral | |
|---|---|
 Near Aguascalientes, Mexico | |
 Location map for the Central Mexican matorral | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Nearctic |
| Biome | deserts and xeric shrublands |
| Borders | |
| Geography | |
| Area | 59,195 km2 (22,855 sq mi) |
| Countries | Mexico |
| States | |
| Conservation | |
| Conservation status | Critical/endangered |
| Protected | 1,288 km² (2%) [1] |
The Central Mexican matorral is an ecoregion of the deserts and xeric shrublands biome of central Mexico. It is the southernmost ecoregion of the Nearctic realm.
The Central Mexican matorral covers an area of 59,400 square kilometers (22,900 sq mi) on the southern portion of the Mexican Plateau.
The Mexican Plateau is bounded on the east by the Sierra Madre Oriental, on the south by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, and on the west by the Sierra Madre Occidental. The Central Mexican matorral covers much of the southern portion of the plateau, extending from the Valley of Mexico in the southeast to the Bolaños River in the northwest.
The Central Mexican matorral is bounded by the Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests to the east and northeast, the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests to the southeast, and the Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests on the northwest. An isolated enclave of the Central Mexican matorral occupies the Valley of Toluca. The higher mountain ranges of the plateau are home to sky islands of pine-oak forest, isolated by matorral at lower elevations.
To the southwest, the Central Mexican matorral is bounded by tropical dry forests; the Bajío dry forests in the Lerma River basin, and the Sinaloan dry forests in the lower reaches of the Río Grande de Santiago and its tributaries.
To the northwest, the Central Mexican matorral transitions to the Meseta Central matorral, which covers the middle portion of the Mexican Plateau.
The eastern portion of the Central Mexican matorral is drained by the Pánuco River and its tributaries, the central portion by the Lerma River and its tributaries, and the eastern portion by the northern tributaries of the Río Grande de Santiago, including the Rio Verde and Bolaños. The Valley of Mexico is an endorheic basin, which drains into central lakes.
The ecoregion is home to Mexico City, the largest metropolis in North America. Other cities in the ecoregion include Toluca, San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, San Miguel de Allende, Dolores Hidalgo, San Juan del Rio, Pachuca, and Actopan.
The climate is subtropical and semi-arid, with warm summers and occasional summer rains. Winters are cool, particularly at higher elevations. [2]
The characteristic vegetation is dry shrubland, called matorral. Cactus and rosette plants are prominent. Cactus include species of prickly pear cactus ( Opuntia – Opuntia robusta, Opuntia streptacantha, and Opuntia leucotricha , Ferocactus latispinus , Mammillaria magnimamma, Cylindropuntia imbricata . Rosette plants include agaves like Agave lechuguilla , yuccas, including Yucca filifera and Yucca decipiens , Hechtia podantha , and species of Dasylirion . Other shrubs and low trees include Schinus molle, Acacia farnesiana , and Mimosa biuncifera . Ground cover plants include grasses and herbs. [3]
In the Valley of Mexico, the dominant matorral plants are Opuntia streptacantha, Zaluzania augusta, Yucca filifera, Schinus molle, and Mimosa biuncifera. Halopytic grasslands and low shrubs occur on the valley's saline soils, including the shrub romerito ( Suadea mexicana ). [3] [2]
Native mammals include white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), coyote (Canis latrans), collared peccary (Pecari tajacu), nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), southern spotted skunk (Spilogale angustifrons), Mexican cottontail (Sylvilagus cunicularius), desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii), and rock squirrel (Otospermophilus variegatus). [2]
Native birds include great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus), mourning dove (Zenaida macroura), Stygian owl (Asio stygius), red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), northern harrier (Circus cyaneus), prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus), Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), barn owl (Tyto alba), hooded oriole (Icterus cucullatus), and common raven (Corvus corax). [2]
5.4% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include El Gogorrón National Park, Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, Sierra Gorda de Guanajuato Biosphere Reserve, El Cimatario National Park, Los Remedios National Park, El Tepeyac National Park, Molino de Flores Netzahualcóyotl National Park, Sierra de Lobos Sustainable Use Area, Ciénegas de Lerma, Sierra de Álvarez Flora and Fauna Protection Area, and the Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego 043 Estado de Nayarit and Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego 01 Pabellón natural resources protection areas. [1]
The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lower Pecos Valley in New Mexico, and a portion of southeastern Arizona, as well as the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau. It is bordered on the west by the Sonoran Desert, the Colorado Plateau, and the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, along with northwestern lowlands of the Sierra Madre Oriental range. Its largest, continual expanse is located in Mexico, covering a large portion of the state of Chihuahua, along with portions of Coahuila, north-eastern Durango, the extreme northern part of Zacatecas, and small western portions of Nuevo León. With an area of about 501,896 km2 (193,783 sq mi), it is the largest hot desert in North America. The desert is fairly young, existing for only 8000 years.
The Sierra Madre Oriental is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western "backbone" of North America, Central America, South America, and Antarctica.
The Sierra Madre del Sur is a mountain range in southern Mexico, extending 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) from southern Michoacán east through Guerrero, to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca.
The Sierra Madre Occidental pine–oak forests are a Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the Sierra Madre Occidental range from the southwest USA region to the western part of Mexico. They are home to a large number of endemic plants and important habitat for wildlife.
The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine–oak forests is a tropical and subtropical coniferous forests ecoregion in Southern Mexico.
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 1,825 m (5,988 ft) above sea level, it extends from the United States border in the north to the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt in the south, and is bounded by the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental to the west and east, respectively.
The Tamaulipan matorral is an ecoregion in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental range in northeastern Mexico. It is a transitional ecoregion between the Tamaulipan mezquital and the Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests to the west and the Veracruz moist forests to the south.
The Sierra Madre Oriental pine–oak forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion of northeastern and Central Mexico, extending into the state of Texas in the United States.
The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine–oak forests is a subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt of central Mexico.
The Tehuacán Valley matorral is a xeric shrubland ecoregion, of the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in eastern Central Mexico.
The Central America bioregion is a biogeographic region comprising southern Mexico and Central America.
The Cumbres de Monterrey is a national park of Mexico located in the northern portion of the Sierra Madre Oriental in the states of Nuevo León and Coahuila, near the city of Monterrey. The park protects more than 1,770 square kilometres (680 sq mi) of rugged terrain boasting deep canyons, rivers, waterfalls, and scenic mountain peaks, including the Cerro de la Silla, part of Monterrey's famous skyline.
The Salado River is a river in the states of Puebla and Oaxaca in Mexico.
The Bajío dry forests is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in western−central Mexico.
The Meseta Central matorral is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion in north-central Mexico.
The Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego 043 Estado de Nayarit is a protected natural area in west-central Mexico. It extends across portions of southern Sierra Madre Occidental and the westernmost Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. It has an area of 23290.27 km2, covering portions of southern Durango, northern Jalisco, eastern Nayarit, southern Zacatecas, and western Aguascalientes states.
The Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego 01 Pabellón is a protected area in central Mexico. It covers a portion of the Sierra Fría in Aguascalientes and Zacatecas states.
The Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego 026 Bajo Río San Juan is a protected area in northeastern Mexico. It extends over part of the northern Sierra Madre Occidental, near the cities of Monterrey and Saltillo.
The Sierra los Huicholes is a mountain range in western Mexico. It is located in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, and Zacatecas. The Sierra los Huicholes is part of the Sierra Madre Occidental, and is located in the southern portion of the range.
Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego 004 Don Martín, also known as CADNR 004 Don Martín, is a protected natural area in northern Mexico.
