Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests

Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests
Pahuatlán del Valle, Puebla state, Mexico
Ecology
Biome	Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests
Borders	Chihuahuan Desert Tamaulipan mezquital Tamaulipan matorral Veracruz moist forests Veracruz montane forests Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests Central Mexican matorral Meseta Central matorral
Bird species	336
Mammal species	169
Geography
Area	65,600 km2 (25,300 sq mi)
Countries	Mexico (Northeast), and United States (Texas)
Conservation
Conservation status	Critical/endangered
Global 200	Yes
Habitat loss	7.6452%
Protected	9.8%

The Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests are a subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion of northeastern and Central Mexico, extending into the state of Texas in the United States.

The Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests are found at elevations of 1,000–3,500 m (3,300–11,500 ft) above sea level in the Sierra Madre Oriental range, which runs north and south between the Gulf Coastal Plain to the east along the Gulf of Mexico, and the Mexican Plateau to the west. They are also found in the Sierra Norte de Puebla, adjacent to the southern Sierra Madre Oriental. The ecoregion covers an area of 65,600 km² (25,300 sq mi).

The southernmost forests transition to the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests in central Puebla state, near the southern end of the Sierra Madre Oriental. The forests extend almost continuously along the range through the states of Veracruz, Hidalgo, Querétaro, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, and northern Puebla. North of Monterrey, the forests become discontinuous, extending as a series of sky islands through the states of Nuevo León and Coahuila, and on into the Chisos and Davis mountains of the Big Bend region of western Texas. Other sky islands can be found on the higher peaks of the mountain ranges rising from the Mexican Plateau to the west.