Mountain and Highland Ecosystems
An exploration of how altitude and isolation shape distinctive ecological zones and biodiversity in the world's highland regions, from vertical climate belts to the sky islands and water towers that sustain life far beyond the peaks themselves.
60-Second Review
Express reviewA condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.
- Altitudinal Zonation and Vertical Biomes. Rising elevation compresses climate into vertical belts, stacking biomes on a single slope.
- Alpine Tundra and the Treeline. The treeline marks a sharp global boundary where cold cuts off tree growth despite year-round sunlight.
- Cloud Forests and Montane Rainforests. Persistent fog immersion makes tropical cloud forests among the wettest, most epiphyte-rich habitats on Earth.
- Endemism and Isolation in Mountain Ecosystems. Mountains act as isolated sky islands, driving unusually high rates of endemic species.
- The Paramo and Andean Highland Ecosystems. The paramo is a uniquely tropical alpine biome of daily freeze-thaw cycles found only in the northern Andes.
- The Himalayan and Tibetan Plateau Ecosystems. The Tibetan Plateau, Earth's largest and highest, is known as the Third Pole for its vast ice reserves.
- Mountain Ecosystem Services and Water Towers. Mountains supply the bulk of the world's freshwater to lowland regions far larger than the ranges themselves.
- Threats to Mountain Biodiversity. Faster-than-average high-elevation warming is pushing mountain species upslope toward summit extinction.
This module continues after "Biomes and Ecosystems of the World" in the syllabus. If you haven't reviewed it yet, it may help set the context.
Key points
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Further reading
Bibliography and cited sources used to create this module.
- Körner, C. (2003). Alpine Plant Life: Functional Plant Ecology of High Mountain Ecosystems (2nd ed.). Berlin: Springer.
- Hamilton, L.S., Juvik, J.O., and Scatena, F.N. (Eds.) (1995). Tropical Montane Cloud Forests. Ecological Studies 110. New York: Springer-Verlag.
- Luteyn, J.L. (1999). Páramos: A Checklist of Plant Diversity, Geographical Distribution, and Botanical Literature. New York: New York Botanical Garden Press.
- Immerzeel, W.W., Lutz, A.F., Andrade, M., et al. (2020). "Importance and vulnerability of the world's water towers." Nature, 577, 364–369.
- Pauli, H., Gottfried, M., Dullinger, S., et al. (2012). "Recent Plant Diversity Changes on Europe's Mountain Summits." Science, 336(6079), 353–355.
- Myers, N., Mittermeier, R.A., Mittermeier, C.G., da Fonseca, G.A.B., and Kent, J. (2000). "Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities." Nature, 403, 853–858.