tropical and subtropical coniferous forests
Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests are a tropical forest habitat (ecology), habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. These forests are found predominantly in North America, North and Central America and experience low level ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...
in the mountains of northern
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
and
Chiapas
Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
state in southern
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
.
Setting
The Central American pine–oak forests occupy an area of , extending along the mountainous spine of Central America, extending from the Sierra Madre de Chiapas and Chiapas Highlands in Mexico's
Chiapas
Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
state through the highlands of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to central Nicaragua.
The pine-oak forests lie between elevation. At lower elevations they transition to tropical moist forests on the Caribbean slope, and to tropical dry forests on the Pacific slope and interior valleys. Elevations above are often covered with cloud forest ecoregions, including the Sierra Madre de Chiapas moist forests in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the Chiapas montane forests along the northern slope of the Chiapas Highlands, and the Central American montane forests in high-elevation enclaves from southern Guatemala to northern Nicaragua.
Flora
The Central American pine–oak forests are composed mostly of
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.
''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
s (''Pinus'' spp.) and oaks (''Quercus'' spp.), with pines more abundant at higher elevations and oaks at lower elevations. Typical pines include ''
Pinus chiapensis
''Pinus chiapensis'' is a pine tree species in the family (biology), family Pinaceae, and is commonly known as Chiapas pine, in Spanish as pino blanco, pinabete, or ocote. Chiapas pine was formerly considered to be a variant of ''Pinus strobus'', ...
Pinus ayacahuite
''Pinus ayacahuite'', also called ayacahuite pine and Mexican white pine, (family Pinaceae) 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 o ...
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, including pine,
fir
Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...
(''
Abies guatemalensis
''Abies guatemalensis'', the Guatemalan fir or ''pinabete'', is an evergreen tree native to Central America and is the southernmost member of the genus '' Abies'' being spread to the south lower than 14° N. Its range is from southern (less from ...
''),
cypress
Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America.
The word ''cypress'' ...
(''
Cupressus lusitanica
''Hesperocyparis lusitanica'', the Mexican cypress, cedar-of-Goa or Goa cedar, is a species of Cupressaceae, cypress native to Mexico and Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras). It has also been introduced to Belize, Costa Rica a ...
jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
ocelot
The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted Felidae, wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, Central and South America, ...
Montecristo National Park
Montecristo National Park is a large national park centered on the Montecristo cloud forest in Mesoamerica. Montecristo National Park is located in the north-western tip of El Salvador, a country in Central America
Central America is a su ...
Trifinio Biosphere Reserve
The Trifinio Biosphere Reserve is a protected area in Guatemala, located where the borders of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras meet (thus the prefix ''tri'' in its name). The reserve was created in 1987, and has an area of 221.79 km2. It prote ...
Montecristo Trifinio National Park
Montecristo Trifinio National Park is a national park in Honduras. It was established on 1 January 1987 and covers an area of 54 square kilometres.
The Montecristo massif is an area where the borders of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador
E ...
Lagunas de Montebello National Park
Lagunas de Montebello, or Montebello Lakes, () is a national park in the Mexican state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala, comprising 59 multi-colored lakes in a Central American pine–oak forests, pine forest and two Maya civilization, ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, and the
Ramsar Site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
Lagunas de Montebello National Park
Lagunas de Montebello, or Montebello Lakes, () is a national park in the Mexican state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala, comprising 59 multi-colored lakes in a Central American pine–oak forests, pine forest and two Maya civilization, ...