Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests
Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests
The Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests stretch from the "sky islands" of southeastern Arizona south through eight Mexican states to north of Guadalajara, covering rugged mountains and steep canyons. Fire-dependent pine-oak forests dominate elevations between roughly 1,500 and 3,300 meters, holding exceptional tree diversity with an estimated 23 pine species and over 100 oak species. The climate brings mild winters and wet summers, with mean annual precipitation around 553 mm concentrated in summer and temperatures ranging from about -3 to 28°C. As the core of the Madrean pine-oak woodlands biodiversity hotspot, the region holds roughly two-thirds of Mexico's remaining forest and woodland and is home to the thick-billed parrot.
RESOLVE 326
Nearctic
83,802 sq mi
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
Landscape type
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
Plant region
Nearctic
Region footprint
83,802 sq mi
Habitat pressure
Nature Could Recover (Dinerstein NNH 3)
Source & care
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Use this as the broad planting pattern for the region: Subtropical and tropical forests dominated by conifers such as pines, typically in semi-arid climates with seasonal rainfall. They often occupy higher elevations and carry fire-adapted understories. For garden decisions, pair that context with the plant list below, then narrow by your site's light, water, soil, and mature-size constraints.
Range & origins
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 27.0°N, 106.9°W.
Region through time
Modern footprint
RESOLVE 2017 maps 83,802 sq mi
This boundary is a modern ecological footprint for Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests, not a permanent line on the planet. It is useful for today's plant and wildlife context because it follows recurring vegetation, climate, landform, and disturbance patterns.
Why here
tropical & subtropical coniferous forests conditions
The region sits in the Nearctic realm and is classed as tropical & subtropical coniferous forests. Elevation, moisture, fire, soils, coasts, and human land use can all make the real landscape more varied than a single map color suggests.
Change pressure
Nature Could Recover
Plotwright shows this as the current RESOLVE footprint. Over decades to centuries, warming, disturbance, invasive species, land use, and restoration can move the living edge of a region even when the reference map stays fixed.
Similar planting regions
Browse other regions with a similar hot, dry-summer rhythm. Their plant lists can suggest species and combinations worth comparing.
RESOLVE 325 - Nearctic
Bermuda subtropical conifer forests
This ecoregion covers Bermuda, a crescent-shaped archipelago of limestone islands of low elevation in the Atlantic roughly 1,000 km off the US East Coast, with a mild subtropical climate moderated by the Gulf Stream and no recorded frosts. Its uplands were historically dominated by dense stands of three endemic plants: Bermuda cedar (Juniperus bermudiana, a juniper), Bermuda palmetto, and Bermuda olivewood, with mangrove swamps along the coast. Despite low overall species richness, the isolated islands hold notably high endemism. In the 1940s introduced scale insects devastated the cedar forests, and only about 10% of the native cedar remains today; Bermuda is also the seabird home of the Bermuda petrel (cahow), famously rediscovered in 1951.
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
Zones 13a
+2.3°F by 2070
15 sq mi
NNH tier 4
RESOLVE 327 - Nearctic
Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests
The Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests run along rugged mountain ranges from isolated highlands in southwestern Texas (Davis and Chisos Mountains) and southern New Mexico south through northeastern Mexico to near Mexico City. Pine-oak forest dominates between roughly 1,000 and 3,500 m elevation, with pines including Mexican pinyon, Arizona pine, and the locally endemic Nelson's pinyon and Gregg's pine, alongside oaks such as Quercus castanea and Q. affinis. Climate ranges from dry in the north (about 200-300 mm annual rainfall near Big Bend) to far wetter in the south (900-1,500 mm), spanning humid to subhumid slopes. The region is part of the Madrean Pine-Oak Woodlands Biodiversity Hotspot and an Endemic Bird Area; only about a quarter is protected, with logging, grazing, and road-building among ongoing threats.
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
Zones 10a-13b
+3.1°F by 2070
25,252 sq mi
NNH tier 3
RESOLVE 552 - Neotropic
Bahamian pineyards
The Bahamian pineyards are a tropical and subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion spanning the northern Bahamas, on Grand Bahama, Abaco, Andros, and New Providence, together with the Caicos Islands of the Turks and Caicos. The canopy is dominated by the Bahamian pine (Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis), a variety botanically distinct from other Caribbean pines and adapted to sandy, salty ground, growing over a broad-leaved shrub understory that includes poisonwood (Metopium toxiferum), thatch palms, and the endemic five-finger. These are fire-maintained, pyrogenic forests; pollen records indicate a largely anthropogenic origin, with the modern pineyards established by about 1200 CE following Lucayan land clearing. The ecoregion carries a Critical/Endangered status and shelters notable wildlife, including endemic birds such as the Bahama yellowthroat, Bahama woodstar, and Bahama oriole, rock iguanas (Cyclura) and boas (Epicrates), and the wintering Kirtland's warbler, while logging, invasive species, and intensifying hurricanes such as Dorian remain serious threats. For gardeners, the understory native pinepink orchid (Bletia purpurea) is among the ornamental plants found here.
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
Zones 13b
+3.1°F by 2070
2,659 sq mi
NNH tier 3
RESOLVE 553 - Neotropic
Central American pine-oak forests
The Central American pine-oak forests stretch along the mountainous spine of northern Central America, from the Chiapas highlands and Sierra Madre de Chiapas in southern Mexico through the uplands of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras into Nicaragua. As the name suggests, these montane woodlands are dominated by pines (Pinus species) and oaks (Quercus species), with pines tending to prevail at higher elevations and oaks lower down, alongside trees such as American sweetgum. They occupy a mid-elevation band roughly between 600 and 1,800 meters, giving way to cloud forest higher up and grading into tropical moist forest on the Caribbean slope and tropical dry forest on the Pacific slope. The region is an Endemic Bird Area and the celebrated home of the resplendent quetzal, though much of its forest is now considered critically threatened, with the stands in El Salvador almost entirely cleared. For gardeners, it is the native ground of American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), a popular ornamental shade tree prized for its fall color.
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
Zones 12a-13b
+3.4°F by 2070
42,987 sq mi
NNH tier 2
RESOLVE 554 - Neotropic
Cuban pine forests
The Cuban pine forests form a tropical coniferous ecoregion confined to the island of Cuba and Isla de la Juventud, surviving in separate western patches around Pinar del Rio and eastern stands in the Sierra Maestra and Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa mountains. The canopy is built almost entirely of native pines, with Pinus caribaea and Pinus tropicalis dominating the western forests and Pinus maestrensis and Pinus cubensis in the east, often accompanied by the local oak Quercus sagraeana. These trees grow on well-drained, nutrient-poor, acidic soils, including quartziferous sands and lateritic ground, under a warm climate averaging about 25 degrees Celsius with a dry season from roughly November to April and a wet summer. The region is a stronghold of endemism, home to flagship birds such as the Cuban tody, Cuban trogon, and olive-capped warbler, while the Cajalbana Plateau ranks among Cuba's most distinctive centers of plant diversity; centuries of logging, fire, and mining have left the ecoregion classified as critically endangered.
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
Zones 13b
+3.2°F by 2070
2,479 sq mi
NNH tier 3
RESOLVE 302 - Indomalayan
Himalayan subtropical pine forests
The Himalayan subtropical pine forests form a long, narrow band stretching for over 3,000 km along the lower elevations of the Himalaya, spanning Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bhutan and crossing Indian states including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim. The forest is dominated by a single conifer, the Chir pine (Pinus roxburghii), which forms open stands over a sparse understory of shrubs such as barberry, blackberry, and Himalayan raspberry. Its climate is shaped by the southwestern monsoon arriving off the Bay of Bengal roughly from May through September, with a pronounced gradient in which the eastern Himalaya are wetter and the west noticeably drier. Though less species-rich than tropical rainforest, the ecoregion is important habitat, home to wildlife such as the Himalayan goral, yet more than half of its natural habitat has been cleared or degraded by overgrazing, fuelwood and fodder collection, and shifting cultivation.
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
Zones 5b-11b
+4.8°F by 2070
29,439 sq mi
NNH tier 3
Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or regional planting notes that use this Plotwright page. To cite the underlying ecoregion framework or a specific editorial profile, use the source cards below.
Plotwright. (n.d.). Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests (Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests). Retrieved 2026, June 14, from https://plotwright.garden/regions/resolve-326
Sources for this region
This page cites Plotwright first for the compiled view, then lists the upstream framework, climate, and editorial source pages so readers can cite the original material directly.
RESOLVE 2017 Terrestrial Ecoregions (Dinerstein et al.)
Primary ecoregion framework
Backs 4 fields
RESOLVE id
Biome + realm
Area
NNH tier