is found in Abasolo, Irapuato, Salamanca and Romita. In total, these hot and relatively moist climates can be found in about 40% of the state.
From the beginning of the colonial period, much of the state's environment suffered greatly due to the mining techniques and intensive agriculture introduced by the Spanish. The process has been ongoing since then to modern times. Before the Conquest, the state was covered in forests, but mining requires large amounts of fuel to process minerals, so these forests were cut down for fuel as well as numerous construction projects. Agriculture leached nutrients from the soil and caused erosion, and introduced plants, animals and diseases have had large impact. Today, the state contains twenty one protected areas which extend over 63,611 hectares in twenty six municipalities. These natural reserves include Sierra de Lobos, Siete Luminarias, the Silva Dam, Megaparque de Dolores Hidalgo, Cuenca de la Esperanza, Las Fuentes, Peña Alta, Pinal de Zamorano, Parque Metropolitano, La Joya Crater, Yuriria Lake, Las Musas, Culiacán and La Gavia Mountains, Sierra de los Agustinos, Cerro de Cubilete, Cerro de Amoles, La Purisima Dam, Arandas Mountain, La Soledad Dam, and the upper basin of the Temascatío River. Another protected area is the federal Biosphere Reserve of La Sierra Gorda. In Guanajuato, it extends over 236,882 hectares and contains 182 bird species, 42 mammal species and 84 plant species, including two recently discovered ones called Beaucamea compacta and Calibanus glassianus. The park contains a number of species which are in danger of extinction including the black bear and the puma. The climate is semi-arid with variations in temperature due to altitude changes, but most of the area is covered in tropical forest in which many plants lose leaves during the dry season from November to
