THE RED LIST OF MEXICAN CLOUD FOREST TREES

High-altitude (montane) forests in Central and South America are widely recognized as being of exceptional conservation importance, being centres of high diversity and endemicity for many different groups of plants and animals. Montane forests in Mexico are internationally recognised as a global biodiversity hotspot.

Cloud forests - those montane forests that are frequently covered in clouds or mist – are of particular conservation concern. In Mexico, cloud forests cover less than 1% of the land surface of the country, but are thought to contain about 12% of the country’s plant species, 30% of which are endemic to Mexico.

Recognising this importance, it was decided to assesss the conservation status of Mexican cloud forest trees according to the IUCN Categories and Criteria, in a project led by Dr Mario Gonzalez-Espinosa of El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Chiapas, Mexico, with support from colleagues throughout Mexico, and Prof. Adrian Newton of Bournemouth University, UK.

A workshop was held in May 2007 to bring together experts on trees of the region. At the workshop, a list of 506 candidate species for consideration was agreed, and approximately 100 priority species were fully assessed. In October 2007 a second meeting, attended by more than 15 experts, was held , with further meetings of small regional specialist groups were from 2007 to 2009. The editors compiled the final edition of the report from October 2009 to early March 2011.

In total, 762 species, representing 85 botanical families were assessed in this report. The reports findings imply that over 60% of the tree flora of the Mexican cloud forests is threatened to some extent. These include the Critically Endangered Mortoniodendron ruizii, which has lost over 80% of its habitat in recent decades, and the Endangered Mexican Elm Ulmus mexicana (a picture of which is on the front cover of the report), which is threatened by land conversion to coffee plantations. It is clear from the findings of the Red List of Mexican Cloud Forest Trees that conservation of these forests is urgently needed.

Download a pdf of the Red List of Mexican Cloud Forest Trees (7mb, or click here for a 3mb low res version)

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