Central Mexican matorral

The Central Mexican matorral is an ecoregion of the deserts and xeric shrublands biome of central Mexico.

Central Mexican matorral
Location map for the Central Mexican matorral
Ecology
RealmNearctic
Biomedeserts and xeric shrublands
Borders
Geography
Area59,195 km2 (22,855 sq mi)
CountriesMexico
StatesAguascalientes, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas
Conservation
Conservation statusCritical/endangered
Protected1,288 km² (2%)[1]

Geography

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.

Climate

The climate is subtropical and semi-arid, with warm summers and occasional summer rains. Winters are cool, particularly at higher elevations.[2]

Flora

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]

Fauna

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]

Protected areas

A 2017 assessment found that 1,288 km², or 2%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas.[1]

See also
  • "Central Mexican matorral". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  • World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Central Mexican matorral". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.

References
  1. Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b.
  2. Wiken, Ed, Francisco Jiménez Nava, and Glenn Griffith (2011). North American Terrestrial Ecoregions—Level III. Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Montreal, Canada.
  3. "Central Mexican matorral". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.

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