New Mexico Tourism | Learn | Ecoregions

Ecoregions: Arizona/New Mexico Mountains, Arizona/New Mexico Plateau, Chihuahuan Deserts, Colorado Plateau, Madrean Archipelago, Southern Rockies, Southwestern Tablelands, Western High Plains

Southern Rockies

The Southern Rockies are composed of high elevation, steep, rugged mountains. Although coniferous forests cover much of the region, as in most of the mountainous regions in the western United States, vegetation, as well as soil and land use, follows a pattern of elevational banding. The lowest elevations are generally grass or shrub covered and heavily grazed. Low to middle elevations are also grazed and covered by a variety of vegetation types including juniper-oak woodlands, ponderosa pine, aspen, and Douglas-fir. Middle to high elevations are largely covered by coniferous forests and have little grazing activity. The highest elevations have alpine characteristics. Numerous perennial mountain streams with decidous riparian vegetation support coldwater fisheries and serve as wildlife corridors.

Flora:

The Alpine Zone: Englemann spruce, subalpine fir, and sometimes bristlecone pine and snow willow (krummholz vegetation).

The Crystalline Subalpine Forests: ecoregion occupies a narrow elevational band on the steep, forested slopes of the mountains, becoming more extensive on the north slopes. The elevation range in New Mexico is generally 9000 to 11,500 feet, just below the Alpine Zone (21a). Dense forests are dominated by Englemann spruce and subalpine fir; aspen locally dominates some areas. Subalpine meadows also occur. Forest blowdown, insect outbreaks, fire, and avalanches affect the vegetation mosaic. Soils are weathered from a variety of crystalline and metamorphic materials, such as gneiss, schist, and granite, as well as some areas of igneous intrusive rocks. Recreation, logging, mining, and wildlife habitat are the major land uses.

The Crystalline Mid-Elevation Forests: are found mostly in the 8000 to 10,000 feet elevation range on crystalline and metamorphic substrates. Natural vegetation includes ponderosa pine, aspen, Douglas-fir, and areas of limber pine. A diverse understory of shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers occurs. The variety of food sources supports a diversity of bird and mammal species. Forest stands have become denser in many areas due to decades of fire suppression. Land use includes wildlife habitat, livestock grazing, logging, mining, and recreation. The Foothill Woodlands and Shrublands ecoregion is the low elevation portion of the Southern Rockies, and extends from southern Wyoming through Colorado and into New Mexico. In New Mexico, it is a transition area from the higher elevation forests to drier and lower plains (Ecoregion 26) and plateaus (Ecoregions 20, 22). Within the region, some flora and fauna species on the east side (Great Plains) may differ from those found to the west (Great Basin influence). This semiarid region has rolling to irregular terrain of hills, ridges, and footslopes, with elevations mostly 6000 to 8500 feet, and a variety of rock and soil types. In New Mexico, pinyon-juniper and oak woodlands are dominant. The Sedimentary Subalpine Forests ecoregion occupies much of the western half of the Southern Rockies in Colorado, areas of the Sangre de Cristo Range in Colorado and New Mexico, and the western part of the Tusas Mountains in New Mexico. The region occurs