Abstract
The cold tropics (Sect. 1.2) comprise the “regions within the tropics occurring between the upper limit of continuous, closed-canopy forest (often around 3,500 – 3,900 m) and the upper limit of plant life (often around 4,600 – 4,900m)”. In this way Rundel et al. (1994a) define “tropical alpine environments”. They use “alpine” as a more general term in an attempt to avoid regional terms like páramo and jalca for the moist Andes and puna for the drier Andes in South America and Afroalpine and moorland in Africa. However, “alpine” is also a regional term applying to environments outside the tropics. On the other hand, since the conditions and the physiognomy of vegetation are similar on tropical mountains in different continents, especially in Africa and South America, we might as well choose the term páramo. Increasingly, this is used as the general term to describe vegetation in the cold tropics extending from somewhat above 3,000m to nearly 5,000m above sea level (Fig. 12.1).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Ball MC, Canny MJ, Huang CX, Egerton JJG, Wolfe J (2006) Freeze/thaw-induced embolism depends on nadir temperature: the heterogeneous hydration hypothesis. Plant Cell Environ 29:729–745
Beck E (1983) Frost- und Feuerresistenz tropisch-alpiner Pflanzen. Naturwiss Rundsch 36:105–109
Beck E (1994a) Cold tolerance in tropical alpine plants. In: Rundel PW, Smith AP, Meinzer FC (eds) Tropical alpine environments. Plant form and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 77–110
Beck E (1994b) Turnover and conservation of nutrients in the pachycaul Senecio keniodendron. In: Rundel PW, Smith AP, Meinzer FC (eds) Tropical alpine environments. Plant form and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 215–221
Beck E, Scheibe R, Senser M, Müller W (1980) Estimation of leaf and stem growth of unbranched Senecio keniodendron trees. Flora 170:68–76
Beck E, Senser M, Scheibe R, Steiger H-M, Pongratz P (1982) Frost avoidance and freezing tolerance in Afroalpine “giant-rosette” plants. Plant Cell Environ 5:215–222
Beck E, Scheibe R, Senser M (1983) The vegetation of the Shira Plateau and the western slopes of Kibo (Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania). Phytocoenologia 11:1–30
Beck E, Schulze E-D, Senser M, Scheibe R (1984) Equilibrium freezing of leaf water and extracellular ice formation in Afroalpine “giant-rosette” plants. Planta 162:276–282
Carlquist S (1994) Anatomy of tropical alpine plants. In: Rundel PW, Smith AP, Meinzer FC (eds) Tropical alpine environments. Plant form and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 111–128
Goldstein G, Nobel PS (1991) Changes in osmotic pressure and mucilage during low-temperature acclimation of Opuntia ficus-indica. Plant Physiol 97:954–961
Goldstein G, Nobel PS (1994) Water relations and low-temperature acclimation for cactus species varying in freezing tolerance. Plant Physiol 104:675–681
Hedberg O (1964a) Features of Afroalpine plant ecology. Acta Phytogeogr Suec 49:1–144
Hedberg O (1964b) Etudes écologiques de la flore Afroalpine. Bull Soc R Bot Belg 97:5–18
Jones HG (1992) Plants and microclimates, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Keeley JE, Keeley SC (1989) Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) in high elevation tropical cactus. Plant Cell Environ 12:331–336
Keeley JE, DeMason DA, Gonzalez R, Markham KR (1994) Sediment-based carbon nutrition in tropical alpine Isoëtes. In: Rundel PW, Smith AP, Meinzer FC (eds) Tropical alpine environments. Plant form and function., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 167–194
Krog JO, Zachariassen KE, Larsen B, Smidsrod O (1979) Thermal buffering in Afroalpine plants due to nucleating agent-induced water freezing. Nature 282:300–301
Lang M, Schindler C (1994) The effect of leaf-hairs on blue and red fluorescence emission and on zeaxanthin cycle performance of Senecio medley L. J Plant Physiol 144:680–685
Lauer W (1975) Vom Wesen der Tropen. Klimaökologische Studien zum Inhalt und zur Abgrenzung eines irdischen Landschaftsgürtels. Akad Wiss Lit Abh Math Naturwiss Kl (Mainz) 1975, 3:5–52
Lipp CC, Goldstein G, Meinzer FC, Niemczura W (1994) Freezing tolerance and avoidance in high-elevation Hawaiian plants. Plant Cell Environ 17:1035–1044
Medina E, Delgado M (1976) Photosynthesis and night CO2-fixation in Echeveria columbiana Poellnitz. Photosynthetica 10:155–163
Meinzer F, Goldstein G (1985) Some consequences of leaf pubescence in the Andean giant-rosette plant Espeletia timotensis. Ecology 66:512–520
Meinzer FC, Goldstein G, Rundel PW (1994) Comparative water relations of tropical alpine plants. In: Rundel PW, Smith AP, Meinzer FC (eds) Tropical alpine environments. Plant form and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 61–76
Melcher PJ, Goldstein G, Meinzer FC, Minyard B, Giambelluca TW, Loope LL (1994) Determinants of thermal balance in the Hawaiian giant rosette plant, Argyroxiphium sandwicense. Oecologia 98:412–418
Miller GA (1994) Functional significance of inflorescence pubescence in tropical alpine species of Puya. In: Rundel PW, Smith AP, Meinzer FC (eds) Tropical alpine environments. Plant form and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 195–213
Rada F, Goldstein G, Azocar A, Meinzer F (1985) Freezing avoidance in Andean giant rosette plants. Plant Cell Environ 8:501–507
Rehder H (1994) Soil nutrient dynamics in East African alpine ecosystems. In: Rundel PW, Smith AP, Meinzer FC (eds) Tropical alpine environments. Plant form and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 223–228
Reisigl H, Keller R (1987) Alpenpflanzen im Lebensraum. G Fischer, Stuttgart
Rundel PW (1994) Tropical alpine climates. In: Rundel PW, Smith AP, Meinzer FC (eds) Tropical alpine environments. Plant form and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 21–44
Rundel PW, Smith AP, Meinzer FC (eds) (1994a) Tropical alpine environments. Plant form and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Rundel PW, Meinzer FC, Smith AP (1994b) Tropical alpine ecology: progress and priorities. In: Rundel PW, Smith AP, Meinzer FC (eds) Tropical alpine environments. Plant form and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 355–363
Schuepp PH (1993) Leaf boundary layers. New Phytol 125:477–507
Smith AP (1974) Bud temperature in relation to nyctinastic leaf movement in an Andean giant-rosette plant. Biotropica 6:263–266
Squeo FA, Rada F, Azocar A, Goldstein G (1991) Freezing tolerance and avoidance in high tropical Andean plants: is it equally represented in species with different plant height? Oecologia 86:378–382
Troll C (1943) Die Frostwechselhäufigkeit in den Luft- und Bodenklimaten der Erde. Meteorol Z 60:161–171
Walter H, Breckle S-W (1984) Spezielle Ökologie der tropischen und subtropischen Zonen. G Fischer, Stuttgart
Zhu JJ, Beck E (1991) Water relations of Pachysandra leaves during freezing and thawing. Evidence for a negative pressure potential alleviating freeze-dehydration stress. Plant Physiol 97:1146–1153
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
(2008). Páramos. In: Physiological Ecology of Tropical Plants. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-71793-5_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-71793-5_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-71792-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-71793-5
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)