HUMID JUNGLE: CHARACTERISTICS, VEGETATION, FAUNA AND STATES - GEOGRAPHY - 2024

The Mexican rainforest is a region that occupies approximately 5% of the country's territory. It is located mainly in the southeast of Mexico, and extends from Chiapas to the border with the neighboring country of Guatemala. This Mexican region is better known as the Lacandon jungle.

It is the only humid forest found in Mexican territory, with the exception of small jungle extensions in the southwest of the country, whose extension is quite small compared to the Lacandona. This type of tropical forest has characteristics of a warm climate, but at the same time maintains a high level of humidity.

At that historical moment, the indigenous people abandoned the open field and secluded themselves in this jungle. They were there for two centuries, until they re-emerged during the 14th century.

characteristics

The humid jungle in Mexico is one of the largest areas of humid jungle in all of Central America and its main exponent is the Lacandon jungle. This jungle extends for 1.9 million hectares, from Chiapas to the north of Guatemala, in the Yucatan peninsula.

It has six main fauna and flora reserves within itself, among which the Monte Azules reserve stands out. This reserve contains 331,000 hectares of rainforest and is one of the largest on the continent. Only in this there are more than 500 species of trees.

This jungle was one of the main areas that the Mayan Empire inhabited in its golden age, and it is still home to thousands of indigenous people who live from agriculture.

Relief

Throughout the entire southeastern area of ​​Mexico, which contains more than 90% of the country's humid forest, it is possible to appreciate a series of geographical peculiarities. Among the most prominent are the plateaus, slopes and depressions. These types of formations are what shape the territory where the rainforest is located in this country.

Weather

The plants of this region do not lose their leaves throughout the year, as occurs in areas where autumn allows it. Here, the weather is always warm and the amount of rain that falls keeps the region humid for much of the time. The temperature is around 17 degrees Celsius and does not usually vary more than 5 degrees at any time of the year.

Biological extension

Although its size has decreased as a result of logging, the Lacandon jungle is the best preserved rainforest in Mexico and Central America.

It has a large number of rivers thanks to the abundant rains that fall on the region throughout the year, although the greatest amount of precipitation occurs from summer to autumn.

The rivers of the Mexican rainforest turn into a great variety of waterfalls that extend throughout the entire territory of the Lacandon jungle. The components present in the soil allowed the development of several species of small plants throughout the jungle.

The biodiversity of this region contains 25% of all animal and plant species in the country. Accompanying its biodiversity, there are a large number of caves and waterfalls considered very pleasing to the eye throughout the region, which attracts tourists from all over the world.

Environmental problems, international and national defense

The jungle has several regions that have had to be protected by government entities to avoid deforestation. This recent problem has occurred due to the abundant presence of chicle and mahogany trees, which are cut down without discrimination. This has caused an important loss of hectares in the humid forest of the country.

The ecosystems of the jungle have not been altered so far, but logging is considered one of the most important dangers that threaten this region.

The largest protected area in the jungle, Montes Azules, is where the largest number of indigenous tribes live. These tribes do not consider the protected area as something that threatens their freedom, but rather as a safeguard against external threats to their communities.

In view of the large number of species of animals and plants that inhabit the Lacandon jungle region, the environmental group Conservation International declared the area as an important point of biodiversity in the world.

In addition, the region was included in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, which seeks the conservation of several areas of Central America.

Ancient structures in the jungle

As the Mexican rainforest was the home of the Mayans for several centuries, it presents a series of ruins in its entirety. In fact, it has a wide variety of archaeological sites, all belonging to the ancient Mayan civilization.

There are three main archaeological sites located in the Lancandona jungle: Yaxchilan, Bonampak and Palenque.

Yaxchilan

Yaxchilan is an extensive Mayan city that had its most glorious moment in the late 8th century. Its palaces and temples can still be seen in the Mexican rainforest, where several of its ruins are very well preserved.

Bonampak

Bonampak is one of the Mexican archaeological sites where the ancient Mayan murals are best preserved. It is an exponent of the indigenous culture of the continent and one of the places where the paintings of Central American civilization are best preserved.

Palenque

Palenque was an ancient Mayan city that was consumed by the jungle after its decline in the late 7th century. It is currently in very good condition; its buildings were stripped of the vegetation that covered them. It faithfully represents Mayan architecture in its most glorious time.

Vegetation

Thanks to its location, climate and temperature, the Mexican rainforest is one of the regions with the highest number of plant species in the entire American continent. In addition, the presence of rivers and waterfalls guarantee the water that plants need to survive properly throughout the entire jungle.

As its name suggests, the vegetation in this region is mainly jungle. It has trees that are usually cut down for their resources, such as chewing gum and cedar. It also has cocoa trees and, in addition, it has regions with pine trees that give life to ecosystems of various species.

The trees are usually large in the humid forest and their trunks; therefore, they tend to be thick enough to support the weight of the plants. The trees have lianas and vines that run through their trunks and hang from their branches.

Special features

The presence of the Lacandon Indians in the region also means that several of the jungle areas are specifically dedicated to planting plants to collect fruits and grains.

Many of the species in this Mexican jungle are endemic; that is, they belong exclusively to the jungle region of this country. For example, there are more than 400 species of orchids unique to the region.

Fauna

The Mexican rainforest presents a great variety of species typical of the tropical forests of the world, and particularly of America. It has a wide variety of mammalian species, with more than 70 of these present throughout the Lacandon jungle. In this region it is possible to see various species of monkeys, jaguars and ocelots.

Ocelot, a native of the Mexican rainforest

The presence of birds in this jungle is even more extensive than that of its land animals, with more than 300 flying species. Birds from tropical climates such as the macaw and the toucan are very common in the Mexican rainforest.

However, the most numerous fauna in the region are reptiles and amphibians. Coral boas and snakes inhabit the jungle throughout its entire length.

There are also a large number of small amphibians whose number of species is almost impossible to determine. This can be seen particularly in the large number of frog species.

Macaws inhabit parts of the jungle

The number of insects that inhabit this jungle is also very large: it has a large number of ants, bees and beetles.

Most of these species are native to the south of the continent, which have changed their habitat over the centuries.

States in which it predominates

The extension of the jungle occupies a large part of the Mexican southwest. Most of the rainforest in the country is found in Chiapas, which in turn is the state with the most biodiversity. However, Campeche, Quintana Roo and the Yucatan peninsula have within their extension a large part of the country's humid forest.

The jungle area that these states occupy is the so-called Lacandon jungle, which represents more than 90% of the country's humid forests.

Veracruz has some vegetation extensions that are also considered as humid jungle, but not on a scale as large as that presented in the previous states.

Nayarit, Oaxaca, and Guerrero have the smallest tracts of Mexican rainforest; between the three states there is less than 4% of the rainforest in the country.

References

1. Humid Forests, (nd). Taken from biodiversity.gob.mx
2. Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, UNESCO Directory, (nd). Taken from unesco.org
3. Selva Lacandona, WWF Global, (nd). Taken from panda.org
4. Welcome to the Jungle: Exploring Mexico's Lacandón, National Geographic Online, August 28, 2017. Taken from nationalgeographic.com
5. Lacandon Jungle, Wikipedia in English, February 1, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org