Pine-Oak Forests Threatened in Guatemala

Endemism concerns the pine-oak forests of higher altitude in Sierra Madre del Sur, Guatemala.

Here, slash-and-burn agriculture is done daily because of the poverty of rural settlements close to the Mexican border.

The Sierra Madre del Sur sits along the American Cordilleras which stretches from British Columbia, Canada down to Argentina.

All along the higher slopes of this high mountain range grow pine trees and oak in balance of deciduous and coniferous vegetation within an ecologically sensitive biodiversity.

When you compare the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca in Mexico to Sierra Madre del Sur in Guatemala, you see a vast difference.

In Mexico, the forest is sparse near towns and haciendas where the population density is highest while Guatemala's forest cover is spare near tiny rural villages.

Thus, the pine-oak forests of Guatemala are much more threatened by slash-and-burn farming.