Threatened Trees Characteristic of Mexican Tropical Montane Cloud Forests

Abstract

In this study, we document the distribution, current knowledge, and conservation of twenty-six tree species of gymnosperms (four species) and angiosperms (twenty-two species) characteristic of the Mexican cloud forests and most endemic to Mexico. Many species are threatened and included in international and national Red Data List, such as the IUCN, and the Mexican Official Norm (NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010). Distribution maps of these 26 species were generated based on information from herbarium specimens, specialized literature, web databases, and our own field surveys. All records were displayed on a map of the Mexican territory divided into grid cells of 15 × 20 min of latitude/longitude (a spatial resolution of approximately 27.75 km × 36.75 km) to obtain the richness patterns. Additionally, these records were displayed on the map of the current Mexican System of Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) to evaluate their representativeness in these areas of in situ conservation. We also include information on populations and the habitat status of these tree species in some Mexican locations. Most species studied here require particular policies for their conservation due to the problems affecting their natural populations and habitat. Our results indicate that three species are not represented in the Mexican System of NPAs and that some are underrepresented.