| La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve | |
|---|---|
 La Sepultura mountain | |
  | |
| Location | Chiapas, Mexico |
| Coordinates | 16°17′37″N93°45′47″W / 16.29361°N 93.76306°W |
| Area | 1,673.1 km2 (646.0 sq mi) |
| Designation | UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve |
| Designated | 1995 (national) 2006 (international) |
| Administrator | National Commission of Natural Protected Areas |
La Sepultura is a biosphere reserve in southern Mexico. It protects a portion of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas range in the state of Chiapas.
La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve covers the western end of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas. The Zona de Protección Forestal en los terrenos que se encuentran en los municipios de La Concordia, Angel Albino Corzo, Villa Flores y Jiquipilas, a natural resources protection area, lies east of la Sepultura, covering the northern slopes of the Sierra. [1]
The northern slopes of the Sierra descend to the Chiapas Depression, which is drained by the Grijalva River and its tributaries, including the La Venta River, which eventually empty into the Gulf of Mexico. The southern slopes are drained by numerous smaller rivers and streams which descend to the narrow coastal plain and empty into the Pacific Ocean.
La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve is home to a range of ecosystems, which vary with elevation, exposure, and soils. These include lowland deciduous forest or tropical dry forest, mid-elevation evergreen tropical forest, including areas of humid cloud forest, and montane pine–oak forests, which include pine–oak, pine–oak–liquidambar, and pine savanna. Native trees include Ulmus mexicana, Manilkara zapota, Triplaris melaenodendron, Cedrela odorata, Liquidambar styraciflua, Haematoxylum brasiletto , and Croton guatemalensis . [2]
The ecoregion is home to five species of cats, including jaguar (Panthera onca), puma (Puma concolor), jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), and oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus). Other mammals include spider monkey, Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii), brocket deer (Mazama sp.), and northern tamandua anteater (Tamandua mexicana). Resident birds include the white-fronted parrot (Amazona albifrons) and yellow-naped parrot (Amazona auropalliata), and the raptors gray hawk (Buteo plagiatus), Swainson's hawk (Buteo swainsoni), solitary eagle (Buteogallus solitarius), king vulture (Sarcoramphus papa), and peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus). 90 species of migratory birds visit the reserve. [2]
In 1995 the Mexican government designated a portion of La Sepultura as a strict nature reserve, covering an area of 18.12 km2, [3] and an area of 112.14 km2 was designated for ecological conservation. [4]
The biosphere reserve was designated by UNESCO in 2006. It covers 1673.1 km2, which includes the strict nature reserve (known as the core zone or zona nucleo), the ecological conservation area, and a portion of the Zona de Protección Forestal. [1]
Portions of the reserve are inhabited, often with traditional forms of land ownership and management. Local economic activities include animal husbandry, agriculture (maize, beans, and other crops), coffee growing, and timber harvesting. Local people also harvest forest products like pine resin and xate palm leaves ( Chamaedorea spp.). [2]
The Central American pine–oak forests is a tropical and subtropical coniferous forests ecoregion in the mountains of northern Central America and Chiapas state in southern Mexico.
Mapastepec is a town and municipality in the southeastern state of Chiapas, Mexico. Its name derives from the place name mapachtepec, "Hill of the Raccoon", a compound of the Nahuatl words mapachi ("raccoon") and tepetl ("mountain").
Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve is a protected natural area in Chiapas state of southern Mexico. The reserve protects 3312 km2 of the Lacandon Jungle, a lowland tropical rainforest.
The Volcán Tacaná Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve at the Tacaná Volcano in Chiapas, Mexico, on the border with Guatemala. The volcano is part of the Central America Volcanic Arc. The 6,378 hectares (24.63 sq mi) reserve contains fragile ecosystems very rich in wild flora and fauna species of cultural, scientific, economic and biological relevance. Its rich biodiversity and high endemism are found particularly in the high mountain ecosystem and landscapes and in the volcanic edifice which presents geophysical features of great scientific and aesthetic value. Average annual rainfall can amount to 2,000–5,000 millimetres (79–197 in), as in the case of Soconusco.
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La Michilía Biosphere Reserve is a protected area in northwestern Mexico. It is located in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in southern Durango state.
The Sierra de San Juan Biosphere Reserve is a protected area in Nayarit state of western Mexico. It was established in 2003, and has an area of 198.01 km2. It lies just southwest of the city of Tepic. It protects a portion of the Sierra de San Juan, a mountain range which lies between Tepic and the Pacific Ocean.
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.
La Primavera Biosphere Reserve, also known as La Primavera Flora and Fauna Protection Area, is a protected natural area in western Mexico. It is located in the state of Jalisco, immediately west of the city of Guadalajara.
The Sierra de Huautla is a mountain range and biosphere reserve in central Mexico. Located in southern Morelos, the Sierra de Huautla is a southern extension of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt range into the Balsas Basin. The dry forests of Sierra are home to a diverse community of animals and plants, and the reserve's outstanding biodiversity is recognized by UNESCO.
Barranca de Metztitlán is a biosphere reserve in Hidalgo state of Mexico. It is protected for its dramatic scenery of steep cliffs and deep winding canyons, and its distinctive flora and fauna.
The biosphere reserves of Mexico are protected natural areas. Some are designated by the national government, while others are internationally designated by UNESCO.
Nahá–Metzabok Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve in southeastern Mexico. It is located in the state of Chiapas, on the northeastern flank of the Chiapas Highlands. The reserve protects montane rain forests, pine and oak forests, and natural lakes.
Selva El Ocote is a biosphere reserve in Mexico. It includes mid-elevation and highland rain forests and extensive caverns.
The Zona de Protección Forestal en los terrenos que se encuentran en los municipios de La Concordia, Angel Albino Corzo, Villa Flores y Jiquipilas is a natural resources protection area in southern Mexico. It was established in 2009.
El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve in southern Mexico. It is in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in southern Chiapas.
Zona Protectora Forestal los terrenos constitutivos de las cuencas de los ríos Valle de Bravo, Malacatepec, Tilostoc y Temascaltepec is a protected area in central Mexico. It covers an area 1402.34 km2 in the mountains of the State of Mexico. It protects the headwaters of the Cutzamala and Temascaltepec rivers. The Cutzamala basin provides freshwater to Mexico City via the Cutzamala-Lerma System.