Oaxaca, Mexico Photograph by WWF/ Richard Hutto   Neotropical Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   2,900 square miles (7,600 square kilometers) -- about the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined Critical/Endangered

· Location and General Description
· Biodiversity Features
· Current Status
· Threats
· Ecoregion Justification
· References
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Located in the northern slope of Sierra Norte de Oaxaca, this ecoregion ranks among the largest intact montane forests of southern Mexico. The climate is temperate and the area recieves as much as 3,000 mm/year, some areas get as much as 6,000 mm/year. This ecoregion is extremely high in herpetofauna. Natural forest which have been relatively undistubed since the Miocene period can be found along these flora rich slopes. Recognized as one of the largest intact remnants of montane forest in all of Mexico, this region is threatened by agriculture, cattle farming, logging and exploitation of forest resources.

Location and General Description

Biodiversity Features

Current Status

Types and Severity of Threats

Justification of Ecoregion Delineation

The delineation’s for these montane forests were derived from several sources. Initial linework follows current landcover maps of Mexico (INEGI 1996). In this case we traced existing montane mesophile forests which extend along the eastern flank of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca in the states of Oaxaca, Puebla, and Veracruz and lumped together all human modified landscapes which occur within this broader region. The linework was then reviewed by expert opinion at two ecoregion workshops (CONABIO 1996 and 1997). In general the linework follows the distributions of montane flora and fauna on an elevational gradient, which is distinct from the surrounding lowland and dry forests (Rzedowski 1978 and pers. comm.).

References

CONABIO Workshop, 17-16 September, 1996. Informe de Resultados del Taller de Ecoregionalización para la Conservación de México.

CONABIO Workshop, Mexico, D.F., November 1997. Ecological and Biogeographical Regionalization of Mexico.

INEGI Map. 1996. Comision Nacional Para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO) habitat and land use classification database derived from ground truthed remote sensing data Insitituto Nacional de Estastica, Geografia, e Informática (INEGI). Map at a scale of 1:1,000,000.

Rzedowski, J. 1978. Vegetación de Mexico. Editorial Limusa. Mexico, D.F., Mexico.

Rzedowski, J. pers.comm. at CONABIO Workshop, 17-16 September, 1996. Informe de Resultados del Taller de Ecoregionalización para la Conservación de México.

For more general information on this ecoregion, go to the WildWorld version of this description.