Mexican conifers extend mainly across the main mountain ranges Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre Occidental and the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Enclosed between these mountains there are dispersed groups of conifers in mid and high elevations valleys when rainfall conditions allow their growth. Mexican conifers grow in some places often associated with oaks.
The dry season is about 7–8 months. Most rainfall (80-95%) occurs from June to October (5 months) and for only four months in the north. Precipitation throughout the year is present only in a little portion of the Sierra Madre Oriental in the State of Veracruz. The greatest number of species belong to the Pinusgenus, including about 60 species and subspecies.
Some of the trees are harvested locally for their wood, which is used mainly in boards, construction, rustic furniture and in paper production. Resin is extracted from some species. Some trees are esteemed for their seeds: Pinus nelsonii, Pinus maximartinezii, Pinus cembroides and Pinus orizabenzis.
Mexican conifers have been recently started to be introduced in different parts around the world, and their plantations are considered very important. The leading reason for that expansion is the good quality that their wood has for paper production, but they are also planted as ornamental due to their unique characteristics and as exotic plants. The main genera used with this purposes are pines, cypresses and firs and taxodiums.
In their natural environment, they grow from 30° to 14° North Latitude, at altitudes between 600 and 4300 meters above sea level. There are some advantages for their introduction in several places in different altitudes, latitudes and climates: The average rainfall in regions where they occur fluctuates between 380 and 2000 millimeters a year. Above 2400 meters' elevation, snowfall is usual. Moist conditions vary from a short season of rainfall in summer to a climate with rainfall throughout the year, and can develop from semiarid to very wet conditions. In general they can withstand dry summers and some of are drought tolerant in several degrees. They grow from subtropical to cool climates; the average temperature varies from 24°C to 10°C. Some are surprisingly hardy (Pinus hartweggi, Pinus rudis, Pinus ayacahuite, etc.), tolerating temperatures as low as -30°C. These trees occur on very tilted slopes and plain valleys.
Mexican conifers from temperate and cool climates which are being cultivated in other countries for paper industry according to altitudinal, latitudinal and climatic characteristics:
Pinus leiophylla in Kenya. Pinus montezumae in Kenya. Pinus ayacahuite in Kenya, Tanzania, Cupressus lusitanica in Colombia where it is used for creating windbreaks curtains in mountain slopes and fighting against soil erosion. Pinus greggi in Colombia. Pinus patula in Ecuador (3500 m), Colombia (3300 m), Kenya, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea.
In tropical latitudes at high altitudes:
Pinus leiophylla in Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia. Pinus montezumae in Malawi, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Pinus ayacahuite in Angola. Pinus greggi in Zimbabwe and Bolivia. Pinus patula in Bolivia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Hawaii. Cupressus lusitanica in Bolivia
In Subtropical latitudes at mid and high altitudes:
Pinus leiophylla in South Africa and Queensland, Australia. Pinus montezumae in South Africa and Queensland, Australia. Pinus cembroides in South Africa (produces edible nuts) Pinus ayacahuite in Southern Brazil and Northern India, Northern Argentina in Salta and Tucumán Provinces. Cupressus lusitanica in South Africa. Pinus greggi in South Africa and Southern Brazil. Pinus patula in South Africa, Northern India and Southern Brazil
Mexican conifers from subtropical climates that are being planted in tropical and subtropical latitudes at low and mid altitudes for paper industry:
Pinus oocarpa in Ecuador, Kenya, Zambia, Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, South Africa and Queensland, Australia. Pinus chiapensis in Colombia, Brazil, Queensland, Australia and South Africa. Pinus tecunumanni Colombia, Brazil, Queensland, Australia and South Africa.
Mexican conifers from temperate and cool climates and from mid and high altitudes that are being cultivated near sea level for paper industry:
New Zealand has been a pioneer country in cultivating massively trees from high altitudes and tropical latitudes and it has proved that Mexican conifers can thrive in big extensions near sea level when temperature and rainfall conditions are favorable. Most of this species are fully naturalized. Mexican conifers planted in New Zealand are:
Mexican conifers that have been planted with forestation purposes at temperate latitudes at mid and low altitudes:[1]
Pinus patula and cupressus lusitanica in the Argentine provinces of Córdoba and San Luis at lower altitudes than its origin site but with a similar temperate climate with rainfalls in summer.
Mexican conifers from mid and high altitudes that have been planted as ornamental at temperate latitudes near sea level:
Eguiluz T.1982. Clima y Distribución del género pinus en México. Distrito Federal. Mexico.
Rzedowski J. 1983. Vegetación de México. Distrito Federal, Mexico.
Dvorak, W. S., G. R. Hodge, E. A. Gutiérrez, L. F. Osorio, F. S. Malan and T. K. Stanger. 2000. Conservation and Testing of Tropical and Subtropical Forest Species by the CAMCORE Cooperative. College of Natural Resources, NCSU. Raleigh, NC. USA.
Martínez, Maximinio. 1978. Catálogo de nombres vulgares y científicos de plantas mexicanas.
Richardson D.M. (Ed) 2005. Ecology and biogeography of Pinus. Department of Conservation. South Island Wilding Conifer Strategy. New Zealand.
Chandler, N.G. Pulpwood plantations in South Africa. Proc. Aust. Paper Indus. Tech. Ass.
Gutiérrez, Millán, W. Ladrach. 1980. Resultados a tres años de la siembra directa de semillas de Cupressus lusitanica y Pinus patula en finca Los Guaduales Departamento del Cauca. Informe de Investigación 60. Cali, Colombia. Cartón de Colombia S.A. 6 p.
Pinus leiophylla, commonly known as Chihuahua pine, smooth-leaf pine, and yellow pine, is a tree with a range primarily in Mexico, with a small extension into the United States in southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico. The Mexican range extends along the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre del Sur from Chihuahua to Oaxaca, from 29° North Lat. to 17°, between 1600 and 3000 meters altitude. It requires about a rainfall 600 to 1000 mm a year, mostly in summer. It tolerates frosts in winter.
Pinus ayacahuite, also called ayacahuite pine and Mexican white pine, 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 of the Eje Volcánico Transversal, between 14° and 21°N latitude in the Mexican states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz and Chiapas, and in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. It grows on relatively moist areas with summer rainfalls, however specimens from its eastern and southern distribution live under really wet conditions; it needs full sun and well drained soils. Its temperature needs fluctuate between 19 and 10 °C on average a year. This tree accepts from subtropical to cool climate.
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.
Cupressus lusitanica, the Mexican cedar or cedar-of-Goa, is a species of cypress native to Mexico and Central America. It has also been introduced to Belize, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, growing at 1,200–3,000 metres (3,900–9,800 ft) altitude.
Pinus greggii, or Gregg's pine, is a small to medium high pine tree native to eastern Mexico, found in two distinct regions. It has an open crown and long and slender branches. The needles are in bundles of three with an average length of 11 cm. The cones are clustered in groups of 5 – 10. The branches en upper trunk is smooth. Pinus greggii is introduced in several countries.
Pinus oocarpa is a species of pine tree native to Mexico and Central America. It is the national tree of Honduras, where it is known as ocote. Common names include ocote chino, pino amarillo, pino avellano, Mexican yellow pine, egg-cone pine and hazelnut pine. It appears that it was the progenitor (original) species that served as the ancestor for some of the other pines of Mexico.
Pinus patula, commonly known as patula pine, spreading-leaved pine, or Mexican weeping pine, and in Spanish as pino patula or pino llorón, is a tree native to the highlands of Mexico. It grows from 24° to 18° North latitude and 1,800–2,700 m (5,900–8,900 ft) above sea level. The tree grows up to 30 m (98 ft) tall. It can only withstand short periods of temperatures as low as −10 °C (14 °F), but resists well occasional dips below 0 °C (32 °F). It is moderately drought-tolerant, and in this respect is superior to Pinus taeda. The average annual rainfall in its native habitat is from 750 to 2000 mm. This falls mostly in summer, but in a little area of the State of Veracruz on the Sierra Madre Oriental its habitat is rainy the year round.
Pinus tecunumanii is a timber tree native to Mexico and Central America. It grows from the highlands of Chiapas and Oaxaca through Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras to Nicaragua. It occurs in two separated populations in their native habitats. The high-altitude group grows at 1500–2900 m, and the low-altitude group at 500–1500 m.
Pinus devoniana is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is found in more than 15 states of Mexico - from S. Sinaloa to Chiapas - and Guatemala in montane, relatively open pine or pine-oak forests at altitudes from 900 to 2,500 m.
Pinus douglasiana is a species of evergreen conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is found only in Mexico.
Pinus montezumae, known as the Montezuma pine, is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae.
The Sierra Madre del Sur pine–oak forests is a subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range of southern Mexico.
Dioryctria pinicolella is a species of snout moth in the genus Dioryctria. It was described by Hans Georg Amsel in 1962 and is known from Central America, including Mexico and Guatemala.
The Pine–oak Forest of Puebla covers the mass of pine and oak forests in the Mexican state of Puebla.
Papigochic Flora and Fauna Protection Area is a protected area in Chihuahua state of Mexico. It covers an area of 2227.64 km2 in the eastern Sierra Madre Occidental. To the northwest it adjoins Tutuaca Flora and Fauna Protection Area.
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 highland temperate climates are a temperate climate sub-type, although located in tropical zone, isothermal and with characteristics different from others temperate climates like oceanic or mediterranean where they are often are included without proper differentiation.
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