The Lacandon Jungle is an important region in Mexico that has considerable environmental influence in Chiapas, in addition to being the habitat of many species of animals of the Lacandona Jungle. Its relief and climate form a balance in this ecosystem that facilitates its survival, more about this jungle will be explained here.
Lacandon jungle
The Selva Lacandona or the Desert of Soledad, which is located in Mexican territory, specifically in the state of Chiapas, is a region that currently is not even half the size it was four decades ago, this is because it has been deforested, there has been poaching on their land, people have set fires and even groups of people have settled there illegally. This is a region that covers almost 13% of the territory of the aforementioned state.
Since 1960, the displacement of indigenous ethnic groups such as the Choles and the Tseltals began to populate those areas of the Lacandon jungle that were not inhabited at that time, these ethnic groups settled in areas such as Lacanjá-Chansanyab, Naha, Metzabok and Bethel with a population large numbering more than 500 individuals.
Approximately 20 years later, the inhabitants of this area already exceeded 4.900 in Nueva Palestina and more than 3.100 in the Corozal Border. At the end of the 80s, these populations were greater than 5.000 inhabitants. They live in these areas with rustic houses that have wood as walls, guano roofs and the floor is only dirt.
The importance of this region lies in the hydrological regulation that it does, in control of the wear of the soil, the maintenance of its humidity and some studies conclude that its vegetal cover influences the precipitation cycle that covers the center of Chiapas, these depressions generate energy to the entire country (a little more than 30% of the electrical energy is generated in the Alto Grijalva system).
Climate
El climate of the Lacandona jungle It is largely humid, although there are certain areas that have a warm and semi-warm climate, the predominant climate is a combination of both, a warm and humid climate in which the average temperature is 22 C °, generally annual rainfall is 1500 mm or up to 3000 mm (although the latter reach these values only in the north of the jungle). As for the areas where the terrain is higher, the temperature remains between 18 C° and 22 C°.
Continuing with the precipitations, these are very frequent during the rainy season that begins when it is summer and lasts until mid-autumn. Between May and November you can see tropical storms, all this plus the humidity, the high temperatures and the relief facilitates the alterations of the minerals that are found in their lands, as well as the degradation of the organic matter that is found in large quantities there. .
Relief
Much of the Lacandon jungle has been damaged by human activity as mentioned at the beginning of this entry. When the vegetation is eliminated, the soil is damaged by the reduction of organic matter that it had, in addition to that the water circulates in a different way, this facilitates the development of plinthite clay that favors the increase in acidity in the soil.
Actually, this region is quite fragile in terms of human activity on its soil, although it is a very diverse and complex biome. It is possible to see two types of relief in this area in addition to the depressions, each one has a specific type of vegetation:
- The slopes are found in the west and northeast of this forest, they are those elevated areas that have more than ten degrees of slope since over time they have formed on top of limestone rocks, so ravines are very frequent, although these are not more than 10 meters. The blind valleys are also part of this first type of relief.
- The plateaus are found on ridges that were developed by dolomitic limestone rocks, they have a stepped appearance that can give plateaus an altitude of up to 1.400 m. They were formed because the rocks that came from the mountain ridges dissolved over time thanks to the characteristic humidity of the Lacandona jungle, the warm climate and a good amount of organic matter.
Biodiversity of the Lacandona Jungle
The vegetation cover of the Lacandon jungle allows for a great diversity of plants, between 265 plants and 160 species of trees throughout its territory. This variety in a relatively small space cannot be found anywhere else in the world. As for the animals of the Lacandona jungle, it is possible to find several species of mammals, reptiles, insects and birds, some of them will be mentioned in the corresponding sections described below:
Flora of the Lacandona jungle
- Mahogany tree: This first kind of tree They can reach 50 meters high.
- Cedars: Several species of cedars have been described in the Lacandon jungle, these trees can also reach 50 meters in height.
- Rosewood: This is a species that is also commonly known by the name of tipuana, the height they can reach is 18 meters.
- Bromeliads: These are plants that belong to the Bromeliceae family, their cultivation does not require great care, so people usually keep them inside their homes.
- Other plants: It is possible to find here plants like the fern, mosses, various species of orchids, lichens and species such as Lacandonia schimatica, which is a plant that can measure up to 5 centimeters in length, are translucent, so many studies have been carried out to rule out that it was a kind of fungus.
This is a new species that only managed to be classified within a new family of plants three decades ago, but its population does not even exceed 30 specimens. Along with some species of animals from the Lacandona jungle, these plants are in danger of extinction.
Lacandon jungle animals
The animals of the Lacandona jungle are very varied, only in invertebrates the sum of species is more than 5.000, while 40 species of birds and 20 of mammals have been described, some animals of the Lacandona jungle are:
- Jaguar: This species that is in danger of extinction has been seen in the Lacandona Jungle of Mexico, more than 100 jaguars live in this ideal ecosystem for their survival. Being this a region considered as an important home for felines like these.
- Ocelots: These jaguar-like species share this habitat with spider monkeys, opossums, howler monkeys, and 20 other species of Lacandona jungle animals that are mammals.
- Scarlet Macaw: This is one more of the species of this ecosystem that enter the list of endangered animals in the Lacandona jungle. Since it is a species with quite striking colorful plumage, however, in this nation the hunting of scarlet macaws is penalized with up to nine years in prison.
Macaws share this region with harpy eagles, quetzals, toucans, parrots, parakeets, among other birds. As for other species, it is possible to find beetles, red-eyed frogs, butterflies, varieties of ants and another 5.000 species of animals of the Lacandon jungle that are invertebrates.