Arizona Mountains forests

Temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the United States

Southwest Sky Islands Forests

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest

Ecology
Realm| Nearctic
Biome| Temperate coniferous forests
Borders|

* Colorado Plateau shrublands
* Chihuahuan Desert
* Sonoran Desert

Bird species| 208[1]
Mammal species| 123[1]
Geography
Area| 109,100 km2 (42,100 sq mi)
Country| United States
States|

* Arizona
* New Mexico
* Texas

Rivers| Gila River
Conservation
Habitat loss| 0.307%[1]
Protected| 73.78%[1]

The Arizona Mountains forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the southwest United States with a rich variety of woodland habitats and wildlife.

## Setting

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This is a landscape of steep mountains and high stony plateaus with rocky outcrops from the Kaibab Plateau in northern Arizona south to the Mogollon Plateau and eastwards across into southwestern New Mexico. Elevations range from 1,370 to 3,000 meters (4,490 to 9,840 ft), with some peaks higher than that. Specific areas include the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico. [2]

## Flora

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Trees of higher elevations of the area include Ponderosa pine, Blue spruce, Engelmann spruce, White fir, Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir, and Quaking aspen. The lower elevations have a mixed woodland with species such as Alligator juniper, Single-leaf pinyon, Colorado pinyon, Gambel oak, Emory oak, and Arizona white oak. Finally the rivers and their banks are important habitats for specific wildlife and fish.

## Fauna

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Wildlife found here include the miniature northern saw-whet owl and many birds and reptiles that are common in Mexico further south, such as the secretive Montezuma quail. The caves of the Guadalupe Mountains are a specific habitat for beetles, centipedes and other invertebrates.

## Threats and preservation

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This is a fairly stable ecoregion with about 25% of original habitat still intact although vulnerable to logging and overgrazing. Pollution and reduction of rivers are threatening specific plants and animals including Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii) and Goodding's willow (Salix gooddingii), the threatened Gila trout (Oncorhynchus gilae), and the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus). Logging continues to remove habitat of the Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) and the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentalis).

Large blocks of remaining habitat include: the Aldo Leopold Wilderness/Gila Wilderness/Blue Range Wilderness and the El Malpais National Monument and Conservation Area in southwestern New Mexico; the Kaibab National Forest, Blue Range Primitive Area, Grand Canyon National Park, the Mazatzal Mountains including Four Peaks, Superstition Mountains, Sycamore Canyon, Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness, Hellsgate Wilderness, Pinal Mountains in the Tonto National Forest and the Galiuro Mountains in Arizona; the Chuska Mountains on Navajo lands; and the Guadalupe Mountains including the Carlsbad Caverns in southeastern New Mexico and western Texas. Much of this is linked and well-protected within national parkland.

## See also

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* List of ecoregions in the United States (WWF)

## References

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1. ^ a b c d Hoekstra, J. M.; Molnar, J. L.; Jennings, M.; Revenga, C.; Spalding, M. D.; Boucher, T. M.; Robertson, J. C.; Heibel, T. J.; Ellison, K. (2010). Molnar, J. L. (ed.). The Atlas of Global Conservation: Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities to Make a Difference. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-26256-0.
2. ^ "Arizona Mountains forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.

Nearctic temperate coniferous forests ecoregions

* v
* t
* e

Alberta Mountain forests | Canada
Alberta-British Columbia foothills forests | Canada
Arizona Mountains forests | United States
Atlantic coastal pine barrens | United States
Blue Mountains forests | United States
British Columbia mainland coastal forests | Canada, United States
Cascade Mountains leeward forests | Canada, United States
Central and Southern Cascades forests | United States
Central British Columbia Mountain forests | Canada
Central Pacific coastal forests | Canada, United States
Colorado Rockies forests | United States
Eastern Cascades forests | Canada, United States
Fraser Plateau and Basin complex | Canada
Florida scrub | United States
Great Basin montane forests | United States
Haida Gwaii | Canada
Klamath-Siskiyou forests | United States
Middle Atlantic coastal forests | United States
North Central Rockies forests | Canada, United States
Northern California coastal forests | United States
Northern Pacific coastal forests | Canada, United States
Northern transitional alpine forests | Canada
Okanagan dry forests | Canada, United States
Piney Woods forests | United States
Puget lowland forests | Canada, United States
Sierra Juárez and San Pedro Mártir pine–oak forests | Mexico
Sierra Nevada forests | United States
South Central Rockies forests | United States
Southeastern conifer forests | United States
Wasatch and Uinta montane forests | United States

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