Conservation status Critical/Threatened | Area 13,900 km² | |
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Countries Mexico (Southern) and Guatemala Biome Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests | ||
The Chiapas Depression dry forests form one of the ecoregions that belong to the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund, in northwestern Central America.
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Geography
This ecoregion is located in the central Chiapas Depression, the central depression of the eastern Sierra Madre de Chiapas, in Chiapas state of Mexico and into northwestern Guatemala.
It covers an area of around 13,900 km2. It lies at an altitude of 420–800 metres (1,380–2,620 ft).
Ecology
The Chiapas Depression dry forests ecoregion has a hot, dry climate.
Its biodiversity is high, with about 980 plant species, and includes 40% of the endemic species of dry ecosystems found in Mexico. It also forms a corridor that connects two major biogeographic region, the Gulf of Mexico on the east and the Pacific in the west.
Conservation threats
The ecoregion has been seriously threatened by cattle grazing, which is the main cause of its destruction, along with the effects of logging and the expansion of the agricultural frontier.