The Central Mexican matorral is an

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 ...

of the

deserts and xeric shrublands Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (Ancient Greek 'dry') shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this habitat ...

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

of central

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 ...

. It is the southernmost ecoregion of the

Nearctic realm The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...

Geography

The Central Mexican

matorral 300px, Springtime in Santiago.html" ;"title="Chilean matorral a few kilometers north of Santiago">Chilean matorral a few kilometers north of Santiago along the Pan-American Highway Matorral is a Spanish language, Spanish word, along with ''tomil ...

covers an area of on the southern portion of the

Mexican Plateau The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano (), is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico. Averaging above sea level, it extends from the United States border in the north to the T ...

. The Mexican Plateau is bounded on the east by the

Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that ...

, on the south by the

Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (), also known as the Transvolcanic Belt and locally as the (''Snowy Mountain Range''), is an active volcanic belt that covers central-southern Mexico. Several of its highest peaks have snow all year long, and dur ...

, and on the west by the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...

. The Central Mexican matorral covers much of the southern portion of the plateau, extending from the

Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico (; ), sometimes also called Basin of Mexico, is a highlands plateau in central Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations including Teotihuacan, ...

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 island Sky islands are isolated mountains surrounded by radically different lowland environments. The term originally referred to those found on the Mexican Plateau and has extended to similarly isolated high-elevation forests. The isolation has s ...

s 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 The Bajío dry forests is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in western−central Mexico. Geography The Bajío dry forests lie in the southwestern portion of the Mexican Plateau. They are bounded on the southeast, south, and southwest by ...

in the

Lerma River The Lerma River () is Mexico's second longest river. It is a river in west-central Mexico that begins in Mexican Plateau at an altitude over above sea level, and ends where it empties into Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest lake, near Guadalajara, ...

basin, and the Sinaloan dry forests in the lower reaches of the

Río Grande de Santiago The Río Grande de Santiago, or Santiago River, is a river in western Mexico. It flows westwards from Lake Chapala via Ocotlán through the states of Jalisco and Nayarit to empty into the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the longest rivers in Mexic ...

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 The Pánuco River (, ), also known as the ''Río de Canoas'', is a river in Mexico fed by several tributaries including the Moctezuma River and emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. The river is approximately long and passes through or borders the ...

and its tributaries, the central portion by the

and its tributaries, and the eastern portion by the northern tributaries of the

, including the Rio Verde and Bolaños. The Valley of Mexico is an

endorheic basin An endorheic basin ( ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans); instead, the water drainage flows into permanent ...

, which drains into central lakes. The ecoregion is home to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, the largest metropolis in North America. Other cities in the ecoregion include

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and with an average altitude of above sea level it is pre ...

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

San Miguel de Allende San Miguel de Allende () is the principal city in the Municipalities of Mexico, municipality of San Miguel de Allende (municipality), San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the t ...

Dolores Hidalgo Dolores Hidalgo (; in full, Dolores Hidalgo Cuna de la Independencia Nacional, ) is the name of a city and the surrounding municipality in the north-central part of the Mexican state of Guanajuato. It is located at , at an elevation of about a ...

, San Juan del Rio,

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

, and Actopan.

Climate

The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

and

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

, with warm summers and occasional summer rains. Winters are cool, particularly at higher elevations.Wiken, Ed, Francisco Jiménez Nava, and Glenn Griffith (2011). ''North American Terrestrial Ecoregions—Level III''. Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Montreal, Canada.

Flora

The characteristic vegetation is dry shrubland, called matorral. Cactus and rosette plants are prominent. Cactus include species of prickly pear cactus (''

Opuntia ''Opuntia'', commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Cacti are native to the Americas, and are well adapted to arid clima ...

– Opuntia robusta, Opuntia streptacantha, and Opuntia leucotricha'', '' Ferocactus latispinus'', '' Mammillaria magnimamma, Cylindropuntia imbricata''. Rosette plants include

agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the arid regions of the Americas. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large Rosette (botany), rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Many plan ...

s like '' Agave lechuguilla'', yuccas, including '' Yucca filifera'' and '' Yucca decipiens'', '' Hechtia podantha'', and species of ''

Dasylirion ''Dasylirion'' is a genus of succulent, rosette-forming plants in the Asparagaceae family (where it is included in the Nolinoideae subfamily). Most species are native to mountainous arid regions of Mexico, with some species also native to the Sou ...

''. Other shrubs and low trees include ''

Schinus molle ''Schinus'' is a genus of flowering trees and tall shrubs in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as pepper trees. The Peruvian pepper tree ('' Schinus molle'') is the source of the spice known as pink pep ...

Acacia farnesiana ''Vachellia farnesiana'', also known as ''Acacia farnesiana'', and previously ''Mimosa farnesiana'', commonly known as sweet acacia, huisache, casha tree, or needle bush, is a species of shrub or small tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. Its flo ...

'', and '' Mimosa biuncifera''. Ground cover plants include grasses and herbs. 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'').

Fauna

Native mammals include

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...

(''Odocoileus virginianus''),

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

(''Canis latrans''),

collared peccary The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a peccary, a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Peccary, Tayassuidae found in North America, North, Central America, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the gen ...

(''Pecari tajacu''),

nine-banded armadillo The nine-banded armadillo (''Dasypus novemcinctus''), also called the nine-banded long-nosed armadillo or common long-nosed armadillo, is a species of armadillo native to North America, North, Central America, Central, and South America, making ...

(''Dasypus novemcinctus''),

Virginia opossum The Virginia opossum (''Didelphis virginiana''), also known as the North American opossum, is a member of the opossum family found from southern Canada to northern Costa Rica, making it the northernmost marsupial in the world and the only marsup ...

(''Didelphis virginiana''),

southern spotted skunk The southern spotted skunk (''Spilogale angustifrons'') is a species of mammal in the skunk family, (Mephitidae). It ranges from Costa Rica to southern Mexico. At one time this skunk was considered to be a subspecies of the eastern spotted skunk ...

(''Spilogale angustifrons''), Mexican cottontail (''Sylvilagus cunicularius''), desert cottontail (''Sylvilagus audubonii''), and rock squirrel (''Otospermophilus variegatus''). Native birds include

great-tailed grackle The great-tailed grackle or Mexican grackle (''Quiscalus mexicanus'') is a medium-sized, Social animal, highly social passerine bird native to North America, North and South America. A member of the Family (biology), family Icteridae, it is one o ...

(''Quiscalus mexicanus''),

mourning dove The mourning dove (''Zenaida macroura'') is a member of the dove Family (biology), family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove, the chueybird, colloquially as the turtle dove, and it was once known a ...

(''Zenaida macroura''),

Stygian owl The Stygian owl (''Asio stygius'') is a medium-sized "typical owl" in subfamily Striginae. It is found in Mexico, parts of Central America, Cuba, Hispaniola, and 10 countries in South America.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of t ...

(''Asio stygius''),

red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members of ...

(''Buteo jamaicensis''),

northern harrier The northern harrier (''Circus hudsonius''), also known as the marsh hawk or ring-tailed hawk, is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost United States, USA. The northern ...

(''Circus cyaneus''),

prairie falcon The prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus'') is a medium-sized Falconiformes, falcon found in Western North America. A separate species from the peregrine falcon, with which it shares some visual similarities, the prairie falcon is, essentially, an ...

(''Falco mexicanus''),

Harris's hawk Harris's hawk (''Parabuteo unicinctus''), formerly also known as bay-winged hawk or dusky hawk, and known in Latin America as the peuco, is a medium-large bird of prey that breeds from the southwestern United States south to Chile, central Argent ...

(''Parabuteo unicinctus''),

barn owl The barn owls, owls in the genus '' Tyto'', are the most widely distributed genus of owls in the world. They are medium-sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons. The ter ...

(''Tyto alba''), hooded oriole (''Icterus cucullatus''), and

common raven The common raven or northern raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all Corvidae, corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. There are 11 accepted subspecies with little variatio ...

(''Corvus corax'').

Protected areas

5.4% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include El Gogorrón National Park, Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, Sierra Gorda de Guanajuato Biosphere Reserve, El Cimatario National Park, Los Remedios National Park, El Tepeyac National Park, Molino de Flores Netzahualcóyotl National Park, Sierra de Lobos Sustainable Use Area, Ciénegas de Lerma, Sierra de Álvarez Flora and Fauna Protection Area, and the

Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego 043 Estado de Nayarit The Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego 043 Estado de Nayarit is a protected natural areas of Mexico, protected natural area in west-central Mexico. It extends across portions of southern Sierra Madre Occidental and the westernmost ...

and Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego 01 Pabellón natural resources protection areas.

External links

* *

References

{{coord missing, Mexico Mexican Plateau Deserts and xeric shrublands Ecoregions of Mexico Deserts of Mexico * Nearctic ecoregions Madrean region Natural history of the State of Mexico