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Northern Andean Páramo
The Northern Andean páramo (NT1006) is an ecoregion containing páramo vegetation above the treeline in the Andes of Colombia and Ecuador. In the past, when the climate was cooler, the treeline and the páramo units were lower and the units were connected. During the present warmer Holocene epoch the páramos have migrated uphill, shrinking and becoming isolated. They contain many rare or endangered species, some of them restricted to a narrow area of one mountain or mountain range. The ecoregion is relatively well preserved, but faces threats from over-grazing and farming. Geography Location The Northern Andean páramo surrounds the highest peaks of the Andes between the treeline and the snowline from north central Colombia along the ''cordilleras'' south to central Ecuador. It has an area of . The páramo is found at elevations from to the snow line at , islands of grasslands and shrubs surrounded by a sea of cloud forest lower down. Areas of the ecoregion are found within or ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nevado Del Ruiz
Nevado del Ruiz (), also known as La Mesa de Herveo () is a volcano on the border of the departments of Caldas and Tolima in Colombia, being the highest point of both. It is located about west of the capital city Bogotá. It is a stratovolcano composed of many layers of lava alternating with hardened volcanic ash and other pyroclastic rocks. Volcanic activity at Nevado del Ruiz began about two million years ago, during the Early Pleistocene or Late Pliocene, with three major eruptive periods. The current volcanic cone formed during the present eruptive period, which began 150,000 years ago. The volcano usually generates Vulcanian to Plinian eruptions, which produce swift-moving currents of hot gas and rock called pyroclastic flows. These eruptions often cause massive lahars (mud and debris flows), which pose a threat to human life and the environment. The impact of such an eruption is increased as the hot gas and lava melt the mountain's snowcap, adding large quantities o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Histosol
In both the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) and the USDA soil taxonomy, a Histosol is a soil consisting primarily of organic materials. They are defined as having or more of organic soil material starting within 40 cm from the soil surface. In Soil Taxonomy, Gelisols key out before Histosols, and in WRB, Histosols key out before Cryosols. Therefore, organic permafrost soils belong to the Histosols in WRB (Cryic Histosols) and to the Gelisols (Histels) in Soil Taxonomy. Organic soil material has an organic carbon content (by weight) of 12 percent or more (Soil Taxonomy) or 20 percent or more (WRB). These materials include Muck (soil), muck (sapric soil material), mucky peat (hemic soil material), or peat (fibric soil material). Many Histosols show aquic conditions or artificial drainage, some (Folists in Soil Taxonomy and Folic Histosols in WRB) developed under terrestrial conditions. Organic material and therefore Histosols have very low bulk density. Many are ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cordillera De Merida Páramo
The Cordillera de Merida páramo (NT1004) is an ecoregion containing páramo (high moorland) vegetation above the treeline in the Andes mountain range of Venezuela. The isolated habitat has many endemic species. It is relatively stable and intact. Geography Location The Cordillera de Merida páramo is to the south of the Lake Maracaibo in the Cordillera de Mérida massif of northeastern Venezuela. It has an area of . It is surrounded by the Venezuelan Andes montane forests ecoregion. Terrain Páramos in the southwest of the Cordillera de Merida include Batalló at above sea level and Nariño at . The highest point in the central section is the Piedras Blancas peak at , surrounded by extensive páramos, glaciers and lakes. From the Piedras Blancas páramo the land descends to the Mucuchíes páramo at , then continues to gradually descend towards the northeast. Climate The Köppen climate classification is "ETH": Alpine tundra, with no month with an average temperature in ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cordillera Central Páramo
The Cordillera Central páramo (NT1004) is an ecoregion containing páramo (high moorland) vegetation above the treeline in the Andes mountain range of northern Peru and southern Ecuador. Due to its isolation there are high levels of endemism. Despite many human settlements and some destruction of habitat by agriculture and mining, the ecoregion is relatively intact. Geography Location The Cordillera Central páramo is found in the upper regions of the Andes in northern Peru and southern Ecuador. The ecoregion has an area of . The páramo covers ridges and mountains in the high basins of the Piura and Cajamarca regions of Peru and in the south of Ecuador. The northern part of the ecoregion is surrounded by the Eastern Cordillera Real montane forests ecoregion. Further south it adjoins or is surrounded by Tumbes–Piura dry forests, Marañón dry forests, Peruvian Yungas, Ucayali moist forests, Sechura Desert and Central Andean wet puna. Terrain The Cordillera Central pá ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montane Grasslands And Shrublands
Montane grasslands and shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high elevation grasslands and shrublands around the world. The term "montane" in the name of the biome refers to "high elevation", rather than the ecological term that denotes the region below the treeline. This biome includes high elevation ( montane and alpine) grasslands and shrublands, including the puna and páramo in South America, subalpine heath in New Guinea and East Africa, steppes of the Tibetan plateaus, as well as other similar subalpine habitats around the world. The plants and animals of tropical montane páramos display striking adaptations to cool, wet conditions and intense sunlight. Around the world, characteristic plants of these habitats display features such as rosette structures, waxy surfaces, and abundant pilosity. The páramos of the northern Andes are the most extensive examples of this habitat type. Although ecoregion biotas are most diverse in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa Marta Páramo
The Santa Marta páramo (NT1007) is an ecoregion containing páramo (high moorland) vegetation above the treeline in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. The isolated position of the range has allowed unique species to evolve. Some are related to those found in Central America and the Caribbean coastal areas, and some to species from the Andes. The habitat is relatively stable, but has been drastically changed from the original by long-term human activity. Geography Location The Santa Marta páramo has an area of . It covers the upper levels of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the north of Colombia. This is a roughly triangular massif with its north side parallel to the Caribbean sea, the southwest side facing the swamps of the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta and the southeast side facing the Serranía del Perijá mountains across the Cesar River, Cesar and Ranchería River, Ranchería river valleys. The ecoregion is surrounded by th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Costa Rican Páramo
The Costa Rican páramo, also known as the Talamanca páramo, is a natural region of montane grassland and shrubland of Costa Rica and western Panama. Setting The Costa Rican páramo includes several enclaves on the highest peaks of the Cordillera de Talamanca in eastern Costa Rica and western Panama, with a total area of 31 km.Dinerstein, Eric; David Olson; Douglas J. Graham; et al. (1995). ''A Conservation Assessment of the Terrestrial Ecoregions of Latin America and the Caribbean.'' World Bank, Washington DC. The páramo is found above 3000–3100 meters elevation on the summits of Cerro de la Muerte, Cerro Chirripó, and Cerro Kamuk in Costa Rica, Cerro Echandi on the Costa Rica-Panama border, Cerro Fábrega, and Cerro Itamut in Panama. It is surrounded at lower elevations by the Talamancan montane forests. The World Wide Fund for Nature includes the Costa Rican páramo within the montane forests ecoregion, although the páramo has a distinct flora with affinit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (temperate), ''D'' (continental), and ''E'' (polar). Each group and subgroup is represented by a letter. All climates are assigned a main group (the first letter). All climates except for those in the ''E'' group are assigned a seasonal precipitation subgroup (the second letter). For example, ''Af'' indicates a tropical rainforest climate. The system assigns a temperature subgroup for all groups other than those in the ''A'' group, indicated by the third letter for climates in ''B'', ''C'', ''D'', and the second letter for climates in ''E''. Other examples include: ''Cfb'' indicating an oceanic climate with warm summers as indicated by the ending ''b.'', while ''Dwb'' indicates a semi-Monsoon continental climate, monsoonal continental climate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at Abundance of the chemical elements, seventh in total abundance in the Milky Way and the Solar System. At standard temperature and pressure, two atoms of the element chemical bond, bond to form N2, a colourless and odourless diatomic molecule, diatomic gas. N2 forms about 78% of Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere, making it the most abundant chemical species in air. Because of the volatility of nitrogen compounds, nitrogen is relatively rare in the solid parts of the Earth. It was first discovered and isolated by Scottish physician Daniel Rutherford in 1772 and independently by Carl Wilhelm Scheele and Henry Cavendish at about the same time. The name was suggested by French chemist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Potassium
Potassium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol K (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number19. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to form flaky white potassium peroxide in only seconds of exposure. It was first isolated from potash, the ashes of plants, from which its name derives. In the periodic table, potassium is one of the alkali metals, all of which have a single valence electron in the outer electron shell, which is easily removed to create cation, an ion with a positive charge (which combines with anions to form salts). In nature, potassium occurs only in ionic salts. Elemental potassium reacts vigorously with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite hydrogen emitted in the reaction, and burning with a lilac-flame color, colored flame. It is found dissolved in seawater (which is 0.04% potassium by weight), and occurs in many minerals such as orthoclase, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared artificially, the two most common allotropes being white phosphorus and red phosphorus. With as its only stable isotope, phosphorus has an occurrence in Earth's crust of about 0.1%, generally as phosphate rock. A member of the pnictogen family, phosphorus readily forms a wide variety of organic compound, organic and inorganic compound, inorganic compounds, with as its main oxidation states +5, +3 and −3. The isolation of white phosphorus in 1669 by Hennig Brand marked the scientific community's first discovery since Antiquity of an element. The name phosphorus is a reference to the Phosphorus (morning star), god of the Morning star in Greek mythology, inspired by the faint glow of white phosphorus when exposed to oxygen. This property is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
