The Tamaulipan 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 ...

in 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 ...

on the eastern slopes of 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 ...

range in northeastern

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 a transitional ecoregion between the Tamaulipan mezquital and the Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests to the west and the

Veracruz moist forests The Veracruz moist forests () is a tropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in eastern Mexico. Geography The Veracruz moist forests cover an area of , occupying a portion of Mexico's Gulf Coastal Plain between the Sierra Madre Oriental and t ...

to the south. The Tamaulipan matorral is a desert shrubland where the flora mainly consists of woody shrubs, small trees, cacti, and succulents. Piedmont scrub occurs in shallow hollows and montane

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

occurs above about . There are a number of resident bird species and the mammals include Allen's squirrel,

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 ...

and

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 ...

Setting

The Tamaulipan

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 ...

extends along the eastern slopes of the

range in northeastern Mexico, extending from central

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

state across central

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

. The

covers an area of . The humid

lie to the southeast, on the Gulf Coastal Plain of southern Tamaulipas and Veracruz states; the Tamaulipan mezquital lies in the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

lowlands to the east and northeast. The Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests occupy higher elevations of the Sierra Madre Oriental range to the west.

Flora

The ecoregion is predominantly a desert shrubland made up of woody shrubs, small trees,

cacti A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

, and succulents. Dominant plant species include '' Cylindropuntia leptocaulis'', ''Opuntia engelmannii'' var. ''lindheimeri'', '' Prosopis juliflora'', '' P. laevigata'', '' Yucca filifera'', '' Salvia ballotiflora'', '' Jatropha dioica'', cenizo (''

Leucophyllum frutescens ''Leucophyllum frutescens'' is an evergreen shrub in the Scrophularia, figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, native to the U.S. state of Texas, where it is the official "State Native Shrub of Texas", and to the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Ta ...

''), '' Mammillaria heyderi hemisphaerica'', tepeguaje ('' Leucaena pulverulenta'') and ''Mimosa aculeaticarpa'' var. ''biuncifera''. Piedmont scrub is found in shallow soils derived from sedimentary rocks at the base of the Sierra Madre (below ) and receives of annual rainfall. It is composed of relatively short plants ( in height) such as '' Helietta parvifolia'', '' Neopringlea integrifolia'' and ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

'' spp. Montane

is a distinct plant community found above in the Sierra Madre Oriental, composed of

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

s (''Quercus'' spp.), ''

Arbutus ''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islands a ...

'',

Yucca ''Yucca'' ( , YUCK-uh) is both the scientific name and common name for a genus native to North America from Panama to southern Canada. It contains 50 accepted species. In addition to yucca, they are also known as Adam's needle or Spanish-bayon ...

, '' Cercocarpus'', and '' Bauhinia''.

Fauna

Mammals present in this ecoregion include the

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 mexicanus'') Allen's squirrel (''Sciurus alleni''),

(''Pecari tajacu'') and

(''Canis latrans''). Birds such as the eastern screech-owl (''Megascops asio mcallii''), hooded oriole (''Icterus cucullatus''), eastern meadowlark (''Sturnella magna''), long-billed thrasher (''Toxostoma longirostre''), common yellowthroat (''Geothlypis trichas''), blue bunting (''Cyanocompsa parellina'') and olive sparrow (''Arremonops rufivirgatus'') are resident.

Protected areas

6.15% of the ecoregion is in

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

s. Protected areas include Cumbres de Monterrey National Park, Cerro de la Silla Natural Monument, and the Cerro El Topo, Cerro La Mota, Sierra Cerro de la Silla, Sierra El Fraile y San Miguel, Sierra Las Mitras, and Sierra Picachos ecological conservation areas."Tamaulipan matorral". DOPA Explorer. Accessed 15 October 2021

/ref>

References

External links