Some ecological characteristics of higher tropical mountains

The climatic conditions, soils, and plant life of the high mountains of the tropics, above 3000 m elevation, are described based on available literature and some observations. Compared to lower elevations, there is increased incoming and outgoing radiation, temperature and relative humidity radiatio...

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Main Author: Budowski, Gerardo
Format: Artículo
Language:Inglés
Published: Instituto Interamericano de Ciencias Agrícolas (IICA) 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/13576
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author Budowski, Gerardo
author_browse Budowski, Gerardo
author_facet Budowski, Gerardo
author_sort Budowski, Gerardo
collection Repositorio CATIE
description The climatic conditions, soils, and plant life of the high mountains of the tropics, above 3000 m elevation, are described based on available literature and some observations. Compared to lower elevations, there is increased incoming and outgoing radiation, temperature and relative humidity radiation are very pronounced, evaporation is high, the soils are unstable, and a peculiar geometric arrangement of rocks often occurs due to continuous erosion and thawing. Voids affect the heat balance in the soil. The presence of vegetation belts in the mountains is noted, which often display many physiognomic similarities in different geographic areas. The highest altitudinal limits for plants in different regions are noted. The "pillow" growth of plants is described, and the factors that produce it are briefly discussed.
format Artículo
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institution Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza
language Inglés
publishDate 2025
publishDateRange 2025
publishDateSort 2025
publisher Instituto Interamericano de Ciencias Agrícolas (IICA)
publisherStr Instituto Interamericano de Ciencias Agrícolas (IICA)
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spelling RepoCATIE135762025-08-09T23:22:18Z Some ecological characteristics of higher tropical mountains Budowski, Gerardo Ecología vegetal||plant ecology||Ecologia vegetal||phytoécologie Clima||climate||clima||climat Suelo tropical||tropical soils||solo tropical||sol tropical Bosque húmedo||rainforests||floresta de regiões húmidasl||forêt humide Sede Central The climatic conditions, soils, and plant life of the high mountains of the tropics, above 3000 m elevation, are described based on available literature and some observations. Compared to lower elevations, there is increased incoming and outgoing radiation, temperature and relative humidity radiation are very pronounced, evaporation is high, the soils are unstable, and a peculiar geometric arrangement of rocks often occurs due to continuous erosion and thawing. Voids affect the heat balance in the soil. The presence of vegetation belts in the mountains is noted, which often display many physiognomic similarities in different geographic areas. The highest altitudinal limits for plants in different regions are noted. The "pillow" growth of plants is described, and the factors that produce it are briefly discussed. 2025-08-08T16:18:07Z 2025-08-08T16:18:07Z 1966-04-01 Artículo https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/13576 openAccess en Turrialba Vol. 16, no. 2 10 application/pdf Instituto Interamericano de Ciencias Agrícolas (IICA)
spellingShingle Ecología vegetal||plant ecology||Ecologia vegetal||phytoécologie
Clima||climate||clima||climat
Suelo tropical||tropical soils||solo tropical||sol tropical
Bosque húmedo||rainforests||floresta de regiões húmidasl||forêt humide
Sede Central
Budowski, Gerardo
Some ecological characteristics of higher tropical mountains
title Some ecological characteristics of higher tropical mountains
title_full Some ecological characteristics of higher tropical mountains
title_fullStr Some ecological characteristics of higher tropical mountains
title_full_unstemmed Some ecological characteristics of higher tropical mountains
title_short Some ecological characteristics of higher tropical mountains
title_sort some ecological characteristics of higher tropical mountains
topic Ecología vegetal||plant ecology||Ecologia vegetal||phytoécologie
Clima||climate||clima||climat
Suelo tropical||tropical soils||solo tropical||sol tropical
Bosque húmedo||rainforests||floresta de regiões húmidasl||forêt humide
Sede Central
url https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/13576
work_keys_str_mv AT budowskigerardo someecologicalcharacteristicsofhighertropicalmountains