Central Andean wet puna
Encyclopedia
The Central Andean wet puna is a montane grasslands and shrublands
ecoregion
in the Andes
of Peru
and Bolivia
.
and on the east by the Peruvian Yungas
. To the north it transitions to the Cordillera Central páramo, to the south, the Central Andean puna
.
The ecoregion can be subdivided into three subregions: the high andean puna, wet puna, and wet montane grassland.
The high Andean puna lies between 4200 and 5000 m (13,779.5 and 16,404.2 ft). Nightly freezes occur throughout the year and annual precipitation is less than 700 centimetres (275.6 in), falling mainly as snow and hail.
The wet puna is located in the altiplano
at elevations between 3700 and 4200 m (12,139.1 and 13,779.5 ft). It is wetter in the north, where the wet season lasts eight months, and drier in the south, where the wet season lasts two months. Precipitation ranges from 500 to 700 mm (19.7 to 27.6 in) per year. Night freezes occur from March to October.
The wet montane grasslands occur in the eastern section of the ecoregion, at elevations between 3800 and 4200 m (12,467.2 and 13,779.5 ft). They form in deep mountain valleys with glacial origins. They are more humid than the puna.
s.
Conspicuous grass genera
include: Agrostis
, Calamagrostis
, Festuca, Paspalum
and Stipa
; in more humid areas Chusquea
and Cortaderia
.
Asteraceae
include Azorella
, Baccharis
, Daucus
, Draba
, Echinopsis
, Gentiana, Geranium, Lupinus, Nototriche
, Plettekea, Valeriana
and Werneria
.
Brassicaceae
include Cardamine
, Draba
, and Weberbauera.
Campanulaceae
include Lysipomia
.
Caryophyllaceae
include Arenaria
, Cerstium, and Pycnophyllum.
Rosaceae
include Acaena
, Alchemilla
, and Potentilla
.
Rubiaceae
include Arcytophyllum
, and Galium
.
Scrophulariaceae
include Agalinis
, Bartsia
, and Calceolaria
.
The high Andean puna includes species of grasses such as Festuca dolichopylla, Stipa ichu, Calamagrostis spp. Other plants with prostrate and roseate life forms are Hypochoeris spp., Lachemilla
spp., Pycnophyllum spp., Azorella spp., and Aciachne pulvinata.
The wet puna is composed mostly of grasses and shrubs, with sedges and rushes in areas with poor drainage. Below 4000 metres (13,123.4 ft), vegetation in wet areas includes Carex, Juncus, Oreobolus and Scirpus. Above 4000 metres (13,123.4 ft), the vegetation in wet areas (called bofedales) includes floating submerged cushion plants. Large cushions are formed by Distichia muscoides, Oxychloe andina, and Plantago rigida. Other genera include Gentiana, Hypsela, Isoetes, Lilaeopsis
, Ourisia, and Scirpus
. Common trees are Buddleja
coriacea and Polylepis
spp. Puya raimondii
is a giant rosette
found here.
The wet montane grasslands in the region possess species not found in the wet puna. These include Gnaphalium
spp. Blechnum loxense, Loricaria
sp., and Achirocline sp.
s are found in this ecoregion, including the vicuña (Vicugna vicugna), llama (Lama glama), guanaco (Lama guanacoe), and alpaca (Lama pacos). Other large mammals include the puma (Felis concolor) and the andean fox (Pseudalopex culpaeus). Bats include the small big-eared brown bat (Histiotus montanus) and the hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus).
Endemic bird species in the northern section of the ecoregion include the Ash-breasted tit-tyrant (Anairetes alpinus), the royal cinclodes (Cinclodes aricomae), Berlepsch’s canastero (Asthenes berlepschi), the line-fronted canastero (Asthenes urubambensis), the olivaceous thornbill (Chalcostigma olivaceum), the scribble-tailed canastero (Asthenes maculicauda), the short-tailed finch (Idiopsar bracyurus), and the gray-bellied flower-piercer (Diglosa carbonaria).
Endemic bird species found in the southern section of the ecoregion tend to live in dense montane scrub and shrubby forest with cacti. Most of these birds live in the puna region, but others live in subtropical and temperate zones. These include the plain-tailed warbling-finch (Poospiza alticola), the rufous-breasted warbling-finch (Poospiza rubecula), Taczanowski’s tinamou (Nothoprocta tacaznowskii), the white-cheeked cotinga (Zaratornis stresemanni), Kalinowski’s tinamou (Nothoprocta kalinowskii), the white-browed tit-spinetail (Leptasthenura xenothorax), the rufous-eared brush-finch (Atlapetes rufigenis), the white-tufted sunbeam (Aglaeactis castelnaudii), the bearded mountaineer (Oreonympha nobilis), the striated earthcreeper (Upucerthia serrana), the rusty-fronted canastero (Asthenes ottonis), the rusty-bellied brush-finch (Atlapetes nationi), the chesnut-breasted mountain-finch (Poospiza caesar), and the brown-flanked tanager (Thlypopsis pectoralis).
The southern section of the ecoregion includes the Cochabamba mountain-finch (Poospiza garleppi), Berlepsch’s canastero (Asthenes berlepschi), the maquis canastero (Astenes heterura), the rufous-bellied saltator (Saltator rufiventris), the citron-headed yellow-finch (Sicalis luteocephala), the scribble-tailed canastero (Asthenes maculicauda), the short-tailed finch (Idiopsar brachyurus), the grey-bellied flower-piecer (Diglossa carbonaria), and Berlepsch's canastero (Asthenes berlepschi).
Montane grasslands and shrublands
Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high altitude grasslands and shrublands around the world....
ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
of Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
.
Setting
This ecoregion occurs above 3500 metres (11,482.9 ft) and consists of high-elevation, wet, montane grasslands amid lakes, plateaus, valleys, and high mountains. It is bordered on the west by the Sechura DesertSechura Desert
The Sechura Desert is located south of the Piura Region of Peru along the Pacific Ocean coast and inland to the foothills of the Andes Mountains...
and on the east by the Peruvian Yungas
Peruvian Yungas
The Peruvian Yungas is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Yungas of Peru.-Setting:The Peruvian Yungas occur on the eastern slopes and valleys of the Peruvian Andes...
. To the north it transitions to the Cordillera Central páramo, to the south, the Central Andean puna
Central Andean puna
The Central Andean puna is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in the Andes of southern Peru, Bolivia, and northern Argentina.-Setting:...
.
The ecoregion can be subdivided into three subregions: the high andean puna, wet puna, and wet montane grassland.
The high Andean puna lies between 4200 and 5000 m (13,779.5 and 16,404.2 ft). Nightly freezes occur throughout the year and annual precipitation is less than 700 centimetres (275.6 in), falling mainly as snow and hail.
The wet puna is located in the altiplano
Altiplano
The Altiplano , in west-central South America, where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet...
at elevations between 3700 and 4200 m (12,139.1 and 13,779.5 ft). It is wetter in the north, where the wet season lasts eight months, and drier in the south, where the wet season lasts two months. Precipitation ranges from 500 to 700 mm (19.7 to 27.6 in) per year. Night freezes occur from March to October.
The wet montane grasslands occur in the eastern section of the ecoregion, at elevations between 3800 and 4200 m (12,467.2 and 13,779.5 ft). They form in deep mountain valleys with glacial origins. They are more humid than the puna.
Climate
The climate varies between cold semi-arid and subtropical highland.Flora
The vegetation is composed of bunchgrass communities, wetlands, small shrubs and trees, and herbaceous plantHerbaceous plant
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
s.
Conspicuous grass genera
Genera
Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...
include: Agrostis
Agrostis
Agrostis is a genus of over 100 species belonging to the grass family Poaceae, commonly referred to as the bent grasses...
, Calamagrostis
Calamagrostis
Calamagrostis, or Small-reed or Reedgrass, is a genus in the Grass family Poaceae with about 260 species that occur mainly in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and the southern hemisphere. Towards equatorial latitudes, species of Calamagrostis generally occur at higher elevations in...
, Festuca, Paspalum
Paspalum
Paspalum is a genus of the grass family . Commonly known as paspalums, bahiagrasses or dallis grasses most are tall perennial American grasses. They are most diverse in subtropical and tropical regions....
and Stipa
Stipa
This article is about a type of grass.For Speech Transmission Index for Public Address Systems, see Speech transmission index.For the Italian aircraft designer, see Luigi Stipa...
; in more humid areas Chusquea
Chusquea
Chusquea is a genus of bamboo with about 150 species. Most of them are mountain clumping bamboos native from southern Mexico to southern Chile and Argentina. They are sometimes referred to as South American mountain bamboos. Unlike most other bamboos, the stems of these species are solid, not hollow...
and Cortaderia
Cortaderia
Cortaderia is a genus of 20-25 species of grasses in the family Poaceae. Members of the genus are native to South America , New Zealand and New Guinea . The name of the genus is derived from the Argentine Spanish word cortadera, which in turn refers to the sharp serrations on the leaves....
.
Asteraceae
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
include Azorella
Azorella
Azorella is a genus of about 70 species of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae, native to South America, New Zealand and the islands of the Southern Ocean...
, Baccharis
Baccharis
Baccharis is a genus of perennials and shrubs in the aster family . They are commonly known as baccharises but sometimes referred to as "brooms", because many members have small thin leaves resembling the true brooms. They are not at all related to these however, but belong to an entirely...
, Daucus
Daucus
Daucus is a worldwide genus of herbaceous plants of the family Apiaceae of which the best-known species is the cultivated carrot. Daucus genus of Umbelliferae Apiaceae, has about 25 species.- Features :...
, Draba
Draba
Draba is a large genus of cruciferous plants, commonly known as whitlow-grasses. There are over 400 species:*Draba abajoensis Windham & Al-Shehbaz*Draba × abiskoensis O.E.Schulz*Draba × abiskojokkensis O.E.Schulz...
, Echinopsis
Echinopsis
Echinopsis is a large genus of cacti native to South America, sometimes known as hedgehog cacti, sea-urchin cactus or Easter lily cactus. One small species, E. chamaecereus, is known as the peanut cactus. The 128 species range from large and treelike types to small globose cacti...
, Gentiana, Geranium, Lupinus, Nototriche
Nototriche
Nototriche is a genus of flowering plant in the Malvaceae family.It contains the following species:* Nototriche ecuadoriensis* Nototriche jamesonii...
, Plettekea, Valeriana
Valeriana
Valeriana is a genus of flowering plants in the family Valerianaceae. It includes a number of species of which the best known is the garden valerian Valeriana officinalis...
and Werneria
Werneria
Werneria is a genus of true toads endemic to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.-Species:-References:, 2004 Revision of the genus Werneria Poche, 1903, including the descriptions of two new species from Cameroon and Gabon Zootaxa 720: 1–28 -External links:. 2007. Amphibian Species of the World: an...
.
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....
include Cardamine
Cardamine
Cardamine , is a large genus in the family Brassicaceae. It contains more than 150 species of annuals and perennials. The genus grows worldwide in diverse habitats, except in the Antarctic. Genus Dentaria is a synonym for Cardamine.The leaves can have different forms, going from minute to...
, Draba
Draba
Draba is a large genus of cruciferous plants, commonly known as whitlow-grasses. There are over 400 species:*Draba abajoensis Windham & Al-Shehbaz*Draba × abiskoensis O.E.Schulz*Draba × abiskojokkensis O.E.Schulz...
, and Weberbauera.
Campanulaceae
Campanulaceae
The family Campanulaceae , of the order Asterales, contains about 2000 species in 70 genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and rarely small trees, often with milky non-toxic sap...
include Lysipomia
Lysipomia
Lysipomia is a genus of plant in family Campanulaceae. It contains the following species :* Lysipomia acaulis, Kunth* Lysipomia aretioides, Kunth* Lysipomia bilineata, McVaugh...
.
Caryophyllaceae
Caryophyllaceae
The Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactaceae and Polygonaceae...
include Arenaria
Arenaria
Arenaria, a Latin word meaning sand-loving , may refer to :-Genera:* Arenaria , the turnstones, a bird genus of the family Scolopacidae* Arenaria , the sandworts, a plant genus of the family Caryophyllaceae...
, Cerstium, and Pycnophyllum.
Rosaceae
Rosaceae
Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...
include Acaena
Acaena
Acaena is a genus of about one hundred species of perennial herbs and subshrubs in the Rosaceae, native mainly to the Southern Hemisphere, notably New Zealand, Australia and South America, but with a few species extending into the Northern Hemisphere, north to Hawaii and California Acaena is a...
, Alchemilla
Alchemilla
Alchemilla is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the Rosaceae, and a popular garden herb with the common name Lady's mantle. There are about 300 species, the majority native to cool temperate and subarctic regions of Europe and Asia, with a few species native to the mountains of Africa,...
, and Potentilla
Potentilla
Potentilla is the genus of typical cinquefoils, containing about 500 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbs in the rose family Rosaceae. They are generally Holarctic in distribution, though some may even be found in montane biomes of the New Guinea Highlands...
.
Rubiaceae
Rubiaceae
The Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the coffee family, madder family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee , quinine , and gambier , and the horticulturally valuable madder , west indian jasmine ,...
include Arcytophyllum
Arcytophyllum
Arcytophyllum is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. It is found from Mexico to western South America.-Species:...
, and Galium
Galium
Galium is a large genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Rubiaceae, with 617 known species occurring in the temperate zones of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Most species are known as bedstraw. G...
.
Scrophulariaceae
Scrophulariaceae
Scrophulariaceae, the figwort family, are a family of flowering plants. The plants are annual or perennial herbs with flowers with bilateral or rarely radial symmetry. Members of the Scrophulariaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority found in temperate areas, including...
include Agalinis
Agalinis
Agalinis Raf. is a genus of about 70 species in North, Central, and South America that until recently was aligned with members of the family Scrophulariaceae. As a result of numerous molecular phylogenetic studies based on various chloroplast DNA loci, it was shown to be more closely related to...
, Bartsia
Bartsia
Bartsia is a genus of plant in family Orobanchaceae. It contains the following species :* Bartsia alba, Molau* Bartsia pumila, Benth....
, and Calceolaria
Calceolaria
Calceolaria L. , also called Lady's purse, Slipper flower and Pocketbook flower, or Slipperwort, is a genus of plants in the Calceolariaceae family, sometimes classified in Scrophulariaceae by some authors...
.
The high Andean puna includes species of grasses such as Festuca dolichopylla, Stipa ichu, Calamagrostis spp. Other plants with prostrate and roseate life forms are Hypochoeris spp., Lachemilla
Lachemilla
Lachemilla is a genus of plant in family Rosaceae.Species include:* Lachemilla aequatoriensis, Rothm.* Lachemilla angustata, Romoleroux* Lachemilla jamesonii, Rothm.* Lachemilla rupestris, Rothm....
spp., Pycnophyllum spp., Azorella spp., and Aciachne pulvinata.
The wet puna is composed mostly of grasses and shrubs, with sedges and rushes in areas with poor drainage. Below 4000 metres (13,123.4 ft), vegetation in wet areas includes Carex, Juncus, Oreobolus and Scirpus. Above 4000 metres (13,123.4 ft), the vegetation in wet areas (called bofedales) includes floating submerged cushion plants. Large cushions are formed by Distichia muscoides, Oxychloe andina, and Plantago rigida. Other genera include Gentiana, Hypsela, Isoetes, Lilaeopsis
Lilaeopsis
Lilaeopsis genus of several species of flowering plants known commonly as grassworts. L. brasiliensis is used as a decorative plant for the foreground of aquaria.Species include:* Lilaeopsis brasiliensis syn...
, Ourisia, and Scirpus
Scirpus
The plant genus Scirpus consists of a large number of aquatic, grass-like species in the family Cyperaceae , many with the common names club-rush or bulrush . Other common names are deergrass or grassweed.The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and grows in wetlands and moist soil...
. Common trees are Buddleja
Buddleja
Buddleja, often misspelled Buddleia but commonly known as the Butterfly Bush, is a genus of flowering plants. The generic name bestowed by Linnaeus honours the Reverend Adam Buddle , a botanist and rector in Essex, England, but who could never have seen a plant of the genus.-Classification:The...
coriacea and Polylepis
Polylepis
Polylepis is a genus containing about twenty species of shrubs or trees native to the mid- and high-elevation regions of the tropical Andes. This group is unique in the rose family in that it is predominantly wind-pollinated. They are usually gnarled in shape, but in certain areas some trees are...
spp. Puya raimondii
Puya raimondii
Puya Raimondi, also known as Queen of the Andes is an endemic species of the altoandina zone of Bolivia and Peru, found at an altitude of 3200 – 4800 m...
is a giant rosette
Rosette (botany)
In botany, a rosette is a circular arrangement of leaves, with all the leaves at a single height.Though rosettes usually sit near the soil, their structure is an example of a modified stem.-Function:...
found here.
The wet montane grasslands in the region possess species not found in the wet puna. These include Gnaphalium
Gnaphalium
Gnaphalium is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. It contains about 120 species, which are commonly called cudweeds...
spp. Blechnum loxense, Loricaria
Loricaria
Loricaria is a genus of catfishes of the family Loricariidae.-Taxonomy:Loricaria was the first genus of the family Loricariidae described. Thus, it is the nominal genus of the family Loricariidae. Phylogenetic relationships within Loricaria and among other members of Loricariini remain uncertain...
sp., and Achirocline sp.
Fauna
All of the Andean camelidCamelid
Camelids are members of the biological family Camelidae, the only living family in the suborder Tylopoda. Dromedaries, Bactrian Camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, and guanacos are in this group....
s are found in this ecoregion, including the vicuña (Vicugna vicugna), llama (Lama glama), guanaco (Lama guanacoe), and alpaca (Lama pacos). Other large mammals include the puma (Felis concolor) and the andean fox (Pseudalopex culpaeus). Bats include the small big-eared brown bat (Histiotus montanus) and the hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus).
Endemic bird species in the northern section of the ecoregion include the Ash-breasted tit-tyrant (Anairetes alpinus), the royal cinclodes (Cinclodes aricomae), Berlepsch’s canastero (Asthenes berlepschi), the line-fronted canastero (Asthenes urubambensis), the olivaceous thornbill (Chalcostigma olivaceum), the scribble-tailed canastero (Asthenes maculicauda), the short-tailed finch (Idiopsar bracyurus), and the gray-bellied flower-piercer (Diglosa carbonaria).
Endemic bird species found in the southern section of the ecoregion tend to live in dense montane scrub and shrubby forest with cacti. Most of these birds live in the puna region, but others live in subtropical and temperate zones. These include the plain-tailed warbling-finch (Poospiza alticola), the rufous-breasted warbling-finch (Poospiza rubecula), Taczanowski’s tinamou (Nothoprocta tacaznowskii), the white-cheeked cotinga (Zaratornis stresemanni), Kalinowski’s tinamou (Nothoprocta kalinowskii), the white-browed tit-spinetail (Leptasthenura xenothorax), the rufous-eared brush-finch (Atlapetes rufigenis), the white-tufted sunbeam (Aglaeactis castelnaudii), the bearded mountaineer (Oreonympha nobilis), the striated earthcreeper (Upucerthia serrana), the rusty-fronted canastero (Asthenes ottonis), the rusty-bellied brush-finch (Atlapetes nationi), the chesnut-breasted mountain-finch (Poospiza caesar), and the brown-flanked tanager (Thlypopsis pectoralis).
The southern section of the ecoregion includes the Cochabamba mountain-finch (Poospiza garleppi), Berlepsch’s canastero (Asthenes berlepschi), the maquis canastero (Astenes heterura), the rufous-bellied saltator (Saltator rufiventris), the citron-headed yellow-finch (Sicalis luteocephala), the scribble-tailed canastero (Asthenes maculicauda), the short-tailed finch (Idiopsar brachyurus), the grey-bellied flower-piecer (Diglossa carbonaria), and Berlepsch's canastero (Asthenes berlepschi).
Natural areas
- Ulla Ulla National ReserveUlla Ulla National ReserveThe Ulla Ulla National Reserve - which today is part of Apolobamba Integrated Management Natural Area - was created in 1972 with an extension of 240,000 ha, a biosphere reserve located in the Franz Tamayo Province, in the Department of La Paz in western Bolivia.The Reserve is on the high Andean...
- Titicaca National ReservationTiticaca National ReservationThe Titicaca National Reservation is located in the Puno Region, Peru, in the Puno and Huancané provinces. Its main purpose is to preserve the ecosystems and landscapes of the Titicaca lake and surrounding Central Andean wet puna ecoregion.- External links :...
- Nor Yauyos-Cochas Landscape ReserveNor Yauyos-Cochas Landscape ReserveThe Nor Yauyos-Cochas Landscape Reserve is a protected area in Peru located in the Lima Region, Yauyos Province and in the Junín Region, Jauja Province. It lies with the Peruvian Yungas and Central Andean wet puna ecoregions.- External links :*...
- Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu
- Cordillera HuayhuashCordillera HuayhuashThe Cordillera Huayhuash is a mountain range in the Andes of Peru. It is located in the boundaries of the Ancash Region, Lima Region, y Huanuco Region...
- Junin National ReservationJunin National ReservationThe Junin National Reservation is located in Junin. One of its main purposes is to protect the ecosystem and biodiversity of Junin lake and the surrounding Central Andean wet puna....
- Huascarán National ParkHuascarán National ParkHuascarán National Park is a national park in the Cordillera Blanca, a range of the Andes, in Ancash of central Peru. It was also pronounced as Natural Heritage of Humanity and recognized as Reserve of Biosphere Core. The highest mountain in Peru is located in the park...