science

Tehuacán Valley matorral

Tehuacán Valley matorral is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tehuacán Valley matorral rather than just read about it. In short: The Tehuacán Valley matorral is a xeric shrubland ecoregion, of the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in eastern Central Mexico. Matorral is a Spanish word, along with tomillares, for shrubland, thicket or bushes.

Key takeaways

Tehuacán Valley matorral belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tehuacán Valley matorral to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tehuacán Valley matorral from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Tehuacán Valley matorral is a xeric shrubland ecoregion, of the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in eastern Central Mexico. Matorral is a Spanish word, along with tomillares, for shrubland, thicket or bushes. The term is used alone for a Mediterranean climate ecosystem in Southern Europe.

Geography The Tehuacán Valley matorral ecoregion occupies the Tehuacán Valley, Oriental Basin, and adjacent valleys, covering parts of the states of Tlaxcala, Puebla and Oaxaca. The valleys lie in the rain shadow of the surrounding mountain ranges, and are drier than the surrounding ecoregions.

Adjacent ecoregions The Tehuacán Valley matorral is bounded by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests to the northwest, north, and northeast, the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine-oak forests to the east, and by the Balsas dry forests to the southeast, south, and southwest.

Flora

The Tehuacán Valley matorral is a center of plant diversity, with over 2700 species, of which approximately 30% are endemic. It is a center of diversity for species of Agave, Hechtia, Salvia, and cactus. The ecoregion has a number of distinct plant communities.

Fauna The ecoregion is notable for its diversity of birds and bats. Of the 90 species of birds present, 10 are endemic, including the ocellated thrasher (Toxostoma ocellatum), and bridled sparrow (Aimorphilla mystacalis). 34 species of bats inhabit the ecoregion, of which 18 are endangered, vulnerable, or rare.

Protected areas A 2017 assessment found that 1,594 km2, or 16%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve.

See also List of ecoregions in Mexico Matorral

References

Valiente-Banuet, Alfonso; Flores-Hernandez, Noe; Verdu, Miguel; Davila, Patricia (1998). "The chaparral vegetation in Mexico under nonmediterranean climate: the convergence and Madrean-Tethyan hypotheses reconsidered". American Journal of Botany. 85 (10): 1398–1408. doi:10.2307/2446398. hdl:10261/63771. JSTOR 2446398. PMID 21684893. Archived from the original on 2003-09-18.

External links

"Tehuacán Valley matorral". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Tehuacán Valley matorral". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08. Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve (ParksWatch) [PDF] Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tehuacán Valley matorral

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tehuacán Valley matorral claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tehuacán Valley matorral before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tehuacán Valley matorral ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tehuacán Valley matorral

In research: Tehuacán Valley matorral appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tehuacán Valley matorral in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tehuacán Valley matorral is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Deserts and xeric shrublands, Deserts of Mexico, Ecoregions of Mexico, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tehuacán Valley matorral outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tehuacán Valley matorral in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tehuacán Valley matorral means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tehuacán Valley matorral out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tehuacán Valley matorral in simple terms?

Why does Tehuacán Valley matorral matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tehuacán Valley matorral?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tehuacán Valley matorral.