|Scientific Name:||Abies hickelii var. oaxacana|
|Species Authority:||(Martínez) Farjon & Silba|
See Abies hickelii
Abies oaxacana Martínez
|Taxonomic Notes:||This is a variety with larger seed cones than var. hickelii, but otherwise very similar. The distribution of the two varieties partly overlaps.|
|Red List Category & Criteria:||Endangered B1ab(ii,iii,v)+2ab(ii,iii,v) ver 3.1|
|Reviewer(s):||Thomas, P., Perez de la Rosa, J. & Rushforth, K.|
This taxon is known from a limited number of locations (data are insufficient to give an estimate of the number) and it is thought to be in continuous decline due to logging and general deforestation in the region. Its area of occupancy is certainly less than 500 km² (calculated at 144 km² but based on incomplete records) and it would thus qualify under criterion B2 for Endangered.
Endemic to Mexico: Guerrero, Oaxaca.
Native:Mexico (Guerrero, Oaxaca)
|Range Map:||Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.|
|Population:||A variety which occurs in very low densities. The total population is decreasing and the subpopulations are severely fragmented.|
|Habitat and Ecology:||Both varieties of this species occur in high mountains of sub-tropical southern Mexico, at elevations between 2,500 m and 3,000 m a.s.l. The soils are of volcanic origin. The climate is cool, moist oceanic, with rain mostly in the winter. There are some pure stands at the highest elevations, but this species is usually mixed with highland pines, e.g. Pinus montezumae, P. pseudostrobus, and P. ayacahuite, and also with Cupressus lusitanica and Quercus spp. Shrubs are e.g. Vaccinium spp., Andromeda spp., Ribes spp. and Fuchsia spp.|
|Use and Trade:||Hickel's Fir is a rare species and its two varieties occur in more or less disjunct, limited stands. Exploitation for timber is minor and its use is local, mainly worked in sawmills for domestic purposes. In cultivation it is extremely rare and limited to some dendrological collections in countries with mild climate, e.g. southern France.|
|Major Threat(s):||Logging may have some impact on this taxon, but data to evaluate this quantitatively are lacking. For the 1998 Conifer Specialist Group assessment it was assumed that a 20% decline had occurred over the duration of three generations (about a century). Deforestation in the region is an ongoing process, which affects Abies as a late successional tree more than e.g. Pinus, so it is considered that the decline is continuing.|
|Conservation Actions:||More forest reserves with effective management and policing would be required to protect this variety from decline.|
Farjon, A. 2010. Conifer Database (June 2008) In Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2010 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., eds). Reading, UK. Available at: http://www.catalogueoflife.org/.
Farjon, A. 2010. A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.
IUCN. 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2013.1). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 12 June 2013).
Strandby, U., Cristensen, K. and Sørensen, M. 2009. A morphometric study of the Abies religiosa–hickelii–guatemalensis complex (Pinaceae) in Guatemala and Mexico. Plant Systematics and Evolution 260: 59-76.
|Citation:||Farjon, A. 2013. Abies hickelii var. oaxacana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 01 March 2015.|
|Feedback:||If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please provide us with feedback so that we can correct or extend the information provided|