All Topics  
Montane grasslands and shrublands

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Montane grasslands and shrublands
 
 
  Topics Montane grasslands and shrublands Topic Home

Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome
Biome

Biomes are Climateally and geographically defined areas of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as Community of plants, animals, and Soil biology, and are often referred to as ecosystems....
 defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high altitude
Altitude

Altitude has multiple uses depending on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object....
 (montane
Montane

Montane is a biogeography term which refers to highland areas located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals....
, subalpine
Subalpine

The Rocky Mountains subalpine zone is the life zone immediately below tree line in the Rocky Mountains of North America. In Colorado, the subalpine zone occupies elevations approximately from ; while in northern Alberta, the subalpine zone extends from ....
, and alpine
Alpine climate

Alpine climate is the average weather for a region above the tree line. The climate becomes colder at high elevations—this characteristic is described by the adiabatic lapse rate of air: air tends to get colder as it rises, since it expands....
) grassland
Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found....
s and shrublands around the world.

Montane grasslands and shrublands located above the tree line are commonly known as alpine tundra
Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is an biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes from Kildin Sami tund?r, which means "uplands, treeless mountain tract." There are two types of tundra: Arctic tundra and alpine tundra....
, which occurs in mountain regions around the world. Below the tree line are subalpine and montane grasslands and shrublands. Stunted subalpine forests are known as krummholz
Krummholz

File:Pinus albicaulis 7872.JPGKrummholz or Krumholtz formation is a feature of subarctic and subalpine tree line landscapes, where continual exposure to fierce, freezing winds cause vegetation to become stunted and deformed....
, and occur just below the tree line, where harsh, windy conditions and poor soils create dwarfed and twisted forests of slow-growing trees.

Montane grasslands and shrublands, particularly in subtropical and tropical regions, often evolved as virtual islands, separated from other montane regions by warmer, lower elevation regions, and are frequently home to many distinctive and endemic
Endemic (ecology)

Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, Habitat type, nation, or other defined zone....
 plants which evolved in response to the cool, wet climate and abundant tropical sunlight.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Montane grasslands and shrublands'
Start a new discussion about 'Montane grasslands and shrublands'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome
Biome

Biomes are Climateally and geographically defined areas of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as Community of plants, animals, and Soil biology, and are often referred to as ecosystems....
 defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high altitude
Altitude

Altitude has multiple uses depending on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object....
 (montane
Montane

Montane is a biogeography term which refers to highland areas located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals....
, subalpine
Subalpine

The Rocky Mountains subalpine zone is the life zone immediately below tree line in the Rocky Mountains of North America. In Colorado, the subalpine zone occupies elevations approximately from ; while in northern Alberta, the subalpine zone extends from ....
, and alpine
Alpine climate

Alpine climate is the average weather for a region above the tree line. The climate becomes colder at high elevations—this characteristic is described by the adiabatic lapse rate of air: air tends to get colder as it rises, since it expands....
) grassland
Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found....
s and shrublands around the world.

Montane grasslands and shrublands located above the tree line are commonly known as alpine tundra
Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is an biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes from Kildin Sami tund?r, which means "uplands, treeless mountain tract." There are two types of tundra: Arctic tundra and alpine tundra....
, which occurs in mountain regions around the world. Below the tree line are subalpine and montane grasslands and shrublands. Stunted subalpine forests are known as krummholz
Krummholz

File:Pinus albicaulis 7872.JPGKrummholz or Krumholtz formation is a feature of subarctic and subalpine tree line landscapes, where continual exposure to fierce, freezing winds cause vegetation to become stunted and deformed....
, and occur just below the tree line, where harsh, windy conditions and poor soils create dwarfed and twisted forests of slow-growing trees.

Montane grasslands and shrublands, particularly in subtropical and tropical regions, often evolved as virtual islands, separated from other montane regions by warmer, lower elevation regions, and are frequently home to many distinctive and endemic
Endemic (ecology)

Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, Habitat type, nation, or other defined zone....
 plants which evolved in response to the cool, wet climate and abundant tropical sunlight. Characteristic plants of these habitats display adaptations such as rosette structures, waxy surfaces, and hairy leaves. A unique feature of many wet tropical montane regions is the presence of giant rosette plants from a variety of plant families, such as Lobelia
Lobelia

Lobelia is a genus of flowering plant comprising 360?400 species, with a cosmopolitan distribution distribution primarily in tropical to warm temperate regions of the world, a few species extending into cooler temperate regions....
 (Afrotropic
Afrotropic

The Afrotropic is one of the earth's eight ecozones. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the southern and eastern fringes of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean....
), Puya
Puya (genus)

Puya is a genus of 160?180 species of terrestrial plants in the bromeliad family . They are native to the Andes Mountains of South America and southern Central America....
 (Neotropic
Neotropic

In biogeography, Neotropic or Neotropical refers to one of the world's eight terrestrial ecozones.This ecozone includes South and Central America, the Mexico lowlands, the Caribbean islands, and southern Florida, because these regions share a large number of plant and animal groups....
), Cyathea
Cyathea

Cyathea is a genus of tree ferns, the type genus of the fern order Cyatheales. They are mostly terrestrial ferns, usually with a single tall stem....
 (New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
), and Argyroxiphium
Argyroxiphium

Argyroxiphium is a small genus of five species in the sunflower family . Its members are known by the common name of silversword or greensword due to their long, narrow leaves and the silvery hairs on some species....
 (Hawaii
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
).

The most extensive Montane grasslands and shrublands occur in the Neotropic
Neotropic

In biogeography, Neotropic or Neotropical refers to one of the world's eight terrestrial ecozones.This ecozone includes South and Central America, the Mexico lowlands, the Caribbean islands, and southern Florida, because these regions share a large number of plant and animal groups....
 Paramo
Páramo

File:Rossettenstauden.JPGP?ramo is a neotropical ecosystem. It is located in the high elevations, between the upper forest line and the permanent snow line ....
 of the Andes Mountains. This biome also occurs in the mountains of east and central Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, Mount Kinabalu of Borneo
Borneo

Borneo is the List of islands by area and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. Administratively, this island is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei....
, highest elevations of the Western Ghats
Western Ghats

The Western Ghats also known as the Sahyadri mountains, is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea....
 in South India
South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the Union territories of India of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of area....
 and the Central Highlands of New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
.

Where conditions are drier, one finds montane grasslands, savannas, and woodlands, like the Ethiopian Highlands
Ethiopian Highlands

The Ethiopian Highlands are a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia, Eritrea , and northern Somalia in the Horn of Africa. The Ethiopian Highlands form the largest continuous area of its altitude in the whole continent, with little of its surface falling below 1500 m , while the summits reach heights of up to 4550 m ....
, and montane steppe
Steppe

In physical geography, a steppe , pronounced , is a grassland plain without trees . The prairie can be considered a steppe. It may be semi-desert, or covered with Poaceae or shrubs or both, depending on the season and latitude....
s, like the steppes of the Tibetan Plateau
Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province in China and Ladakh in Kashmir, India....
.

Montane grassland and shrubland ecoregions


External links