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.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 27.0°N, 106.9°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
10a-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
10a-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +2.6°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
Realm
Nearctic
Approximate area
83,802 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Recover (Dinerstein NNH 3)
About the tropical & subtropical coniferous forests biome
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.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.
Climate-resilient picks · 79
These plants fit this ecoregion today AND remain in range under the mid-century SSP3-7.0 projection. Lead with these for a planting that holds up as the climate shifts.
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other tropical & subtropical coniferous forests ecoregions to explore: