The natural vegetation consists of plant communities representative of the Chihuahuan Desert, growing on aridisols derived from sedimentary rocks, principally cretaceous limestones. Land use in the area is primarily pastoral, as the climatic conditions impose considerable risk on cropping, under which yields are also low. There is extensive grazing of cattle, goats, and a few sheep, and domestic raising of chickens, rabbits, and pigs. Crops include mainly corn and beans, grown on small plots with better water relationships. Only 4 per cent of the land is irrigated.
Agricultural activities are generally primitive.
There is almost no mechanization of cultivation, and no access to improved seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, whilst there is no selective breeding of livestock, which are poor producers of meat and milk. Collective land tenure under the ejido system extends over 87 per cent of the area. However, within the ejido , land has been subdivided and allotted individually, and only the grazing lands are exploited communally. This has resulted in overgrazing, as the animals are individually owned s by only a few ejido members who try to maximize their benefits without regard to carrying capacities. Approximately 4,000 people live in the area, dispersed in numerous small settlements.