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.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 19.5°N, 100.1°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
11a-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
11a-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.0°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
Neotropic
Approximate area
35,631 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 · 52
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: