Post on 11-Jan-2016
HIGH ALTITUDE ENVIRONMENTS:
GEOGRAPHY
LANDSCAPE
ECOLOGY/BIODIVERSITY
Fault Block or Domed Mountains
High Altitude Environments
How does “Mountain” differ from “High Altitude”
-Definitions of Mountains: Steep Slope and High Altitude
-High Altitude does not have to be “steep slopes”
-Not all mountains are High Altitude
-Human Habitat: People can live on the top of Mountains, but not necessarily high altitude mountains.
-High Altitude in Anthropology is above 8,000ft (2500m)
Paramo: High-altitude, wet tropical grassland above the treeline in the (Northern) Andes of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and northern Perú. Rich in biodiversity and containing a high grade of endemism, they comprise an indispensable habitat for a distinct variety of flora and fauna.
Puna/Altiplano: High plateau in the Central Andes (approximately 3,600 m) between the Cordillera Oriental and the Cordillera Occidental, which is cool, receives little precipitation, has sparse vegetation and includes several salt flats. The area is densely populated, including farmlands and several large cities.
Altiplano (Puna)
Paramo
What Characterizes High Altitude:
Low Biomass (Primary and Secondary)
Cold
Snow Cover
High Solar Radiation
Decreased Oxygen
Glacial Evidence-Current or Pleistocene
LATITUDE AND HIGH ALTITUDE ENVIRONMENTS
Alexander von Humbolt (1769-1859)
Three Dimensions of Mountain Environments: Carl Troll
Biome: A large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups, which are adapted to that particular environment. The climate and geography of the region determines what types of biomes can exist.
Ecotone: Transitional biomes
Examples: Paramo
Alpine
Montane Forest
High Plateau
What Effects Biodiversity in High Altitudes?
Soil Formation
Aspect
Slope
Biomass (Primary and Secondary)
Unpredictability
Compressed growing season
Aridity and Moisture
Temperature
Wind
Indigenous Pack Animals
Vertical Landscape- Human Land-use
Why would humans and other species choose to live at high altitude?
Mountains as Refuge?
Mountains as Crossings (trade routes)?
How long have certain areas been occupied?
Human Populations in Mountains:
“Mountains have low populations”
10% of world population live in high and middle mountains
Only 1% live in High Mountains…
Alps: 11 million- most densely populated
Himalaya-33 million
Andes-26 million- many indigenous peoples
Populations seem low because there is much uninhabitable land
When just usable land is considered, the mountainous areas may appear overpopulated for the carrying capacity of the land
Dr. Pitambar Sharma, Geographical Development Expert: "Mountain culture is different from other cultures. If you go to mountain regions of other parts of the world, say to Bolivia or Ecuador in South America, and come back to the mountains of Nepal, you sense some commonalities. People's capacity to adapt to mountain environment - coping mechanism - is more or less similar no matter which mountain regions of the world they come from."