Editing New Mexico (section)

===Flora and fauna===
[[File:Geococcyx californianus.jpg|thumb|[[Greater roadrunner]] (the state bird of New Mexico)]]
Owing to its varied [[topography]], New Mexico has six distinct [[Vegetation zone (latitude)|vegetation zones]] that provide diverse sets of habitats for many plants and animals.<ref name="Beck-McNamee-2023a">{{Cite encyclopedia|entry=New Mexico – Climate|entry-url=https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Mexico|access-date=2021-08-03|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en|archive-date=October 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012085307/https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Mexico|url-status=live}}</ref> The Upper Sonoran Zone is by far the most prominent, constituting about three-fourths of the state; it includes most of the plains, foothills, and valleys above 4,500 feet, and is defined by prairie grasses, low piñon pines, and juniper shrubs. The [[Llano Estacado]] in the east features [[Shortgrass Prairie]] with [[Bouteloua gracilis|blue grama]], which sustain [[American bison|bison]]. The [[Chihuahuan Desert]] in the south is characterized by shrubby [[Larrea tridentata|creosote]]. The [[Colorado Plateau]] in the northwest corner of New Mexico is high desert with cold winters, featuring [[Artemisia tridentata|sagebrush]], [[Atriplex confertifolia|shadescale]], [[Sarcobatus|greasewood]], and other plants adapted to the [[Soil salinity|saline]] and [[Selenium|seleniferous]] soil.

The mountainous north hosts a wide array of vegetation types corresponding to elevation gradients, such as [[Pinyon-juniper woodland|piñon-juniper woodlands]] near the base, through [[evergreen]] [[Pinophyta|conifers]], [[spruce]]-[[fir]] and [[aspen]] forests in the transitionary zone, and [[Krummholz]], and [[alpine tundra]] at the very top.<ref name="Beck-McNamee-2023a" /> The [[Madrean Region|Apachian zone]] tucked into the southwestern bootheel of the state has high-calcium soil, [[Madrean pine-oak woodlands|oak woodlands]], [[Cupressus arizonica|Arizona cypress]], and other plants that are not found in other parts of the state.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lowrey|first1=Timothy K.|title=Flora of New Mexico: Biology 463|date=2017|publisher=University of New Mexico|pages=88–162}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ivey |first1=Robert DeWitt |title=Flowering plants of New Mexico |date=2008 |publisher=RD & V Ivey |location=Albuquerque|isbn=978-0961217044 |edition=5th}}</ref> The southern sections of the Rio Grande and Pecos valleys have {{convert|20000|mi2|km2|abbr=off}} of New Mexico's best grazing land and irrigated farmland.

New Mexico's varied climate and vegetation zones consequently support diverse wildlife. [[American black bear|Black bears]], [[bighorn sheep]], [[bobcat]]s, [[cougar]]s, [[deer]], and [[elk]] live in habitats above 7,000 feet, while [[coyote]]s, [[jackrabbit]]s, [[kangaroo rat]]s, [[Peccary|javelina]], [[porcupine]]s, [[pronghorn|pronghorn antelope]], [[Crotalus atrox|western diamondbacks]], and [[wild turkey]]s live in less mountainous and elevated regions.<ref>{{cite book|first=Florence|last=Merriam Bailey|year=1928|title=Birds of New Mexico|publisher=The University of Michigan}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | first=C. Michael | last=Hogan | year=2008 | url=http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=2199 | title=Wild turkey: Meleagris gallopavo | website=GlobalTwitcher.com | access-date=April 2, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170725174654/http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=2199 | archive-date=July 25, 2017 | df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="MexicoCommission1966">{{cite book|author1=New Mexico|author2=New Mexico Compilation Commission|title=New Mexico statutes, 1953, annotated|volume=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdpGAQAAIAAJ|access-date=July 31, 2011|year=1966|publisher=A. Smith Co.|location=Indianapolis|oclc=28494004|page=68|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529051433/http://books.google.com/books?id=TdpGAQAAIAAJ|archive-date=May 29, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The iconic [[greater roadrunner|roadrunner]], which is the state bird, is abundant in the southeast. Endangered species include the [[Mexican wolf|Mexican gray wolf]], which is being gradually reintroduced in the world, and [[Rio Grande silvery minnow]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Threatened and Endangered Species of New Mexico: 2012 Biennial Review |url=http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/download/conservation/threatened-endangered-species/biennial-reviews/2012-Biennial-Review-Executive_Summary_and_Full_Text.pdf |website=New Mexico Department of Game and Fish |access-date=June 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113061108/http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/download/conservation/threatened-endangered-species/biennial-reviews/2012-Biennial-Review-Executive_Summary_and_Full_Text.pdf |archive-date=November 13, 2018 }}</ref> Over 500 species of birds live or migrate through New Mexico, third only to California and Mexico.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 7, 2021|title=Take Flight|url=https://www.newmexicomagazine.org/blog/post/guide-to-bird-watching-in-new-mexico/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=www.newmexicomagazine.org|language=en-us|archive-date=January 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106180135/https://www.newmexicomagazine.org/blog/post/guide-to-bird-watching-in-new-mexico/|url-status=live}}</ref>