Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests
Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests
The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests cloak the high mountains that run west to east across central Mexico, stretching from Jalisco in the west to Veracruz in the east and threading through states such as Michoacan, Mexico, and Puebla. Forests here sort themselves by elevation into pine, pine-oak, pine-cedar, and pine-fir communities, with characteristic trees including Montezuma pine and Hartweg's pine, white oaks, and the sacred fir (Abies religiosa). Snow falls on the highest summits of the range, such as Pico de Orizaba and Popocatepetl. Acting as a bridge between the Sierra Madre Occidental and Oriental, the region is a true center of diversity, home to roughly half of Mexico's mammal species and to the endemic volcano rabbit (teporingo); its fir groves also shelter the wintering colonies of migratory monarch butterflies. For gardeners, the sacred fir stands out as an ornamental conifer native to these slopes.
RESOLVE 559
Neotropic
35,631 sq mi
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
Landscape type
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
Plant region
Neotropic
Region footprint
35,631 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 19.5°N, 100.1°W.
Region through time
Modern footprint
RESOLVE 2017 maps 35,631 sq mi
This boundary is a modern ecological footprint for Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt 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 Neotropic 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 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 555 - Neotropic
Hispaniolan pine forests
The Hispaniolan pine forests cover the high mountains of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, spanning both the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where they extend from the Cordillera Central into Haiti's Massif du Nord at elevations above roughly 800 meters. The forests are dominated by pino criollo (Pinus occidentalis), the island's only native pine, growing alongside other conifers such as the juniper Juniperus gracilior and Podocarpus aristulatus, with broad-leaved understory shrubs at lower elevations. The climate is comparatively cool and seasonal for the tropics, with annual rainfall generally between 1,000 and 2,000 millimeters and a distinct wet season, and temperatures in the higher reaches can fall below freezing. The ecoregion is rated Critical/Endangered: more than half of its original area has been cleared for agriculture, pasture, and plantations, with the Haitian portion far more deforested than the Dominican side. It shelters many endemic animals, including the Hispaniolan crossbill, white-winged warbler, and golden swallow. Gardeners may recognize native genera here such as Juniperus, Vaccinium, and Buddleja.
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
Zones 12a-13b
+3.3°F by 2070
4,476 sq mi
NNH tier 2
RESOLVE 556 - Neotropic
Sierra de la Laguna pine-oak forests
The Sierra de la Laguna pine-oak forests crown the Sierra de la Laguna mountain range at the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, within Los Cabos and eastern La Paz municipalities of Baja California Sur. Found above roughly 800 meters and ringed at lower elevations by dry forest and desert, they form the only temperate forests in the state, dominated by oaks (Quercus, including the endemic Q. devia) and pines (notably the endemic Pinus lagunae), alongside the Peninsular madrone (Arbutus peninsularis). Their elevation gives a subtropical to temperate climate that is markedly wetter than the surrounding lowlands, with rain concentrated in summer. This island of forest is a center of endemism, holding around 694 plant species of which roughly 85 occur nowhere else, and part of the range was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve. For gardeners, the native Arbutus and Quercus offer cues to genera suited to mild, summer-rain mountain climates.
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
Zones 11b-12b
+2.6°F by 2070
411 sq mi
NNH tier 1
RESOLVE 557 - Neotropic
Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine-oak forests
The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine-oak forests cover the rugged Sierra Madre de Oaxaca mountains of southern Mexico, lying mostly within Oaxaca state and extending north into Puebla and Veracruz, with terrain reaching 3,400 metres at the peak of Zempoaltepetl. A mosaic of pine and oak woodland dominates, built largely on Pinus and Quercus (including netleaf oak), grading into humid cloud forests rich in bromeliads, orchids, and ferns. The climate is temperate and humid, with the range intercepting moist air carried west from the Gulf of Mexico; yearly temperatures and rainfall range roughly from 16 to 20 degrees Celsius and 700 to 4,000 millimetres. These forests are exceptionally biodiverse, holding nearly 40 percent of Mesoamerica's endemic vertebrates and ranking among the last remaining habitats for jaguar and puma in Mexico, with much of the land stewarded by Indigenous communities. For gardeners, the region is also home to native orchids of the genus Rhynchostele.
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
Zones 11b-13b
+3.2°F by 2070
5,538 sq mi
NNH tier 2
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.). Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests (Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests). Retrieved 2026, June 14, from https://plotwright.garden/regions/resolve-559
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