Balsas dry forests

The Balsas dry forests is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion located in western and central Mexico.

Balsas dry forests
Dry forest near Apatzingán, Michoacán, Mexico
location of the Balsas dry forests ecoregion
Ecology
RealmNeotropical
Biometropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
Borders
Geography
Area37,384 km2 (14,434 sq mi)
CountryMexico
StatesGuerrero, Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos, Oaxaca and Puebla
Conservation
Conservation statusCritical/endangered
Global 200Mexican dry forests
Protected1,451 km² (4%)[1]

Geography

The Balsas dry forests occupy the basin of the Balsas River. The ecoregion covers an area of 62,400 square kilometers (24,100 sq mi). The Balsas Valley, and the Balsas dry forests, extend east and west between the ranges of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt to the north and the Sierra Madre del Sur to the south.[2]

The Balsas dry forests ecoregion extends across portions of the states of:

  1. Michoacán
  2. Guerrero
  3. Mexico (state)
  4. Morelos
  5. Puebla
  6. Oaxaca

surrounding ecoregions

The surrounding mountains are home to pine-oak forests: the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests to the north and northwest, the Sierra Madre del Sur pine-oak forests to the south, and the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine-oak forests to the east. The xeric Tehuacán Valley matorral lies to the northeast. The Balsas dry forests meet the coastal Southern Pacific dry forests where the Balsas breaks through the Sierra Madre del Sur on its way to the Pacific Ocean.[2]

Climate

The climate of the Balsas dry forests is tropical and subhumid. Rainfall is less than 120 centimeters (47 inches) per year and seasonal, with a dry season that can last up to eight months.[2]

See also
  • "Balsas dry forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  • World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Balsas dry forests". 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. "Balsas dry forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.