In an article that appeared in Global Ecology and Biogeography (IF=6,446), Prof. Arkadiusz Nowak and colleagues from many regions of the world presented the distribution patterns of species richness of plant communities of the alpine floor.

Based on data from 8928 phytosociological images taken by the authors of the paper in 26 ecoregions, in six biogeographic regions, using extrapolation of dilution curves, the most important zones of alpine vegetation were compared in terms of their richness.

The most species-diverse communities are those located near the equator and at mid-latitudes in Asia. One of the richest regions in the world is the Andes paralympics (Colombia and Ecuador) and the Pamiro-Alai in Tajikistan. This is a result of the long history of alpine flora development in these regions and the absence or very limited glaciation of these areas in the Quaternary. In addition, the very high richness in the northern Andes and Central Asia is influenced by the high variability of the substrate (e.g., in terms of pH), high spatial isolation and the extent of the alpine floor.

We hope that the results of our work would appeal to Alexander von Humboldt, who 221 years ago traveled to South America and, looking at the Andes, wondered about the global distribution of vegetation in the world.

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2021-04-06 06:11:14