Meseta Central matorral
The Meseta Central matorral is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion located in north-central Mexico.
Geography
The Meseta Central matorral occupies the central portion of the Mexican Plateau. It is bounded on the east by the Sierra Madre Oriental. The Sierra de Arteaga, Serranía de Zapalinamé, Sierra La Concordia, and Sierra de Parras ranges separate the ecoregion from the Chihuahuan Desert to the north. The Sierra Madre Occidental bounds the ecoregion on the west. On the south it transitions to the Central Mexican matorral.Most of the ecoregion is in endorheic basins, where streams drain into saline lakes with no outlet to the sea, including the Llanos el Salado and Bolsón de Mapimí. The western portion of the ecoregion is in the valley of the San Pedro Mezquital River, which drains southwestwards into the Pacific. The southeastern portion of the ecoregion is in the Panuco River basin, which drains eastwards into the Gulf of Mexico.
The cities of Durango, Fresnillo, Matehuala, and Rioverde are in the ecoregion.
Climate
The climate is hot and dry. Rainfall is less than 500 mm per year.Flora
The characteristic vegetation is dry shrubland that includes yucca and cactus. Characteristic species include the yuccas izote , chocha, and Yucca decipiens, and creosote bush, known in Spanish as la gobernadora. Other common species are the shrubs huisache, sangre de drago, desert mimosa, and mesquite, the cacti Opuntia engelmannii, Echinocactus horizonthalonius, and Echinocereus conglomeratus, and the grasses Bouteloua gracilis'' and hairy woollygrass. In the northern part of the ecoregion near the transition to the Chihuahuan desert, the dominant plant community is creosote bush and hojasén.Fauna
Native mammals include coyote, desert mule deer, Mexican prairie dog, yellow-faced pocket gopher, and Saussure's shrew. The ecoregion has resident and migratory bats. The greater long-nosed bat and lesser long-nosed bat are important spring and summer pollinators for many plants, including the yuccas, agaves, and cactus. The western yellow bat is an insectivorous resident bat.Native birds include the greater roadrunner, golden eagle, great horned owl, spotted owl, red-tailed hawk, peregrine falcon, scaled quail, and Worthen's sparrow.