The Sierra Juárez and San Pedro Mártir pine-oak forests is an ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

, in the Temperate coniferous forests

Temperate coniferous forests

Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome found in temperate regions of the world with warm summers and cool winters and adequate rainfall to sustain a forest. In most temperate coniferous forests, evergreen conifers predominate, while some are a mix of conifers and broadleaf evergreen...

 biome

Biome

Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...

, that covers the higher elevations of the Sierra Juárez

Sierra Juárez

Sierra de Juárez is a mountain range on the Baja California Peninsula, of Baja California, Mexico. It is part of the Peninsular Ranges. The Laguna Mountains of California lie to the north and the Sierra San Pedro Mártir lies to the south....

 and Sierra San Pedro Mártir

Sierra San Pedro Mártir

Sierra de San Pedro Mártir is a mountain range that is one of the Peninsular Ranges of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico. At , the highest peak is the Picacho del Diablo, also known as Cerro de la Encantada or Picacho la Providencia...

 ranges, of the Peninsular Ranges

Peninsular Ranges

The Peninsular Ranges are a group of mountain ranges, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, which stretch from southern California in the United States to the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific coast from Alaska...

, in the northern Baja California Peninsula

Baja California Peninsula

The Baja California peninsula , is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. Its land mass separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California. The Peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in the south.The total area of the Baja California...

 of Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, near the border with California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 (United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

).

Setting

The ecoregion covers an area of 4000 km² (1,544.4 sq mi). It lies at the southeastern extent of the Mediterranean climate

Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...

 region that covers much of California and the northwestern corner of Baja California

Baja California

Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

, and the climate is temperate

Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...

 with winter rains.

The pine-oak forests are bounded by the southern extent of the California chaparral and woodlands

California chaparral and woodlands

The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of lower northern, central, and southern California and northwestern Baja California , located on the west coast of North America...

 to the west, by the Baja California Desert

Baja California Desert

The Baja California Desert is a Desert ecoregion of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula.-Geography and climate:The ecoregion covers 77,700 square kilometers and includes most of the Peninsula's western slope. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the east by the Peninsular Ranges...

 to the southwest, and by the Sonoran Desert

Sonoran Desert

The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...

 to the east.

Flora

These forests are predominantly pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

, juniper

Juniper

Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...

, fir

Fir

Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...

, and oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

. Ten pine species can be found in the ranges, including Tamarack Pine (Pinus contorta subsp. murrayana)

Lodgepole Pine

Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta, also known as Shore Pine, is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.-Subspecies:...

, Sugar Pine (Pinus lambertiana), Parry Pinyon (Pinus quadrifolia)

Parry Pinyon

Pinus quadrifolia, the Parry Pinyon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to southernmost California in the United States and northern Baja California in Mexico, from 33° 30' N south to 30° 30' N. It occurs at moderate altitudes from to , rarely as low as and as high as...

, along with White Fir (Abies concolor subsp. lowiana), and California Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens)

Calocedrus

Calocedrus is a genus of three species of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae.The generic name means "beautiful cedar".-Description:...

. Oak species include Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia), Engelmann Oak (Quercus engelmannii), Canyon Live Oak (Quercus chrysolepis)

Quercus chrysolepis

Quercus chrysolepis, commonly termed Canyon Live Oak, or Golden Cup Oak, is a species of evergreen oak that is found in the southwestern part of North America, notably in the California Coast Ranges. This tree is often found near creeks and drainage swales growing in moist cool microhabitats...

, Baja Oak (Quercus peninsularis)

Quercus peninsularis

Quercus peninsularis is a species of plant in the Fagaceae family. It is an island tree endemic to Mexico.-Source:* Nixon, K. et al. 1998. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....

., and Island Oak (Quercus tomentella).

Tecate Cypress (Cupressus forbesii)

Cupressus forbesii

Cupressus forbesii is a species of cypressin western North America. -Distribution:Cupressus forbesii is native to chaparral and woodlands habitats and grows at...

 and San Pedro Martir Cypress (Cupressus arizonica subsp. Montana)

Cupressus arizonica

Cupressus arizonica, the Arizona Cypress, is a species of cypress native to the southwest of North America, in the United States in Arizona, southwest New Mexico, southern California, and the Chisos Mountains of west Texas, and in Mexico in Coahuila, Chihuahua, Durango, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas and...

  are found in scattered groves across the range. The Sierra Juárez and San Pedro Mártir pine-oak forests are near the southern limit of the distribution of the California Fan Palm (Washingtonia filifera)

Washingtonia filifera

Washingtonia filifera , with the common names California Fan Palm , Desert Fan Palm, Cotton palm, and Arizona Fan Palm. It is a palm native to southwestern North America between an elevation range of , at seeps, desert bajadas, and springs where underground water is continuously available...

. The higher portions of these Peninsular Ranges harbor many rare and endemic species.

Fauna

See: Index: Fauna of the Baja California Peninsula

• endemic fauna

Conservation

• Endangered species
  Endangered species
  An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
  
  
• Habitat destruction
  Habitat destruction
  Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose of...
  
  
• Protected areas

External links

• Sierra Juarez and San Pedro Martir pine-oak forests (World Wildlife Fund)