Life zones of Peru

Life zones of Peru

When the Spanish arrived, they divided Peru (very simplistic) in three main regions: the Coastal region (11.6% of Peru), that is bounded by the Pacific Ocean; the Highlands (28.1% of Peru), that is located on the Andean Heights, and the Jungle, that is located on the Amazonian Jungle (Climate of Peru). But Javier Pulgar Vidal, a geographer who studied the biogeographic reality of the Peruvian territory for a long time, proposed the creation of eight Natural Regions. [1] [2] In 1941, he presented his thesis “Las Ocho Regiones Naturales del Perú” at the III General Assembly of the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History.

These eight Peruvian regions are:

Contents

Example: Andes 10°S

See also Altitudinal zonation

Classic Version, Amazonic side

  • Sea level, estimated 22 - 24°C (75°F, but the cold Humboldt Current generates fog on the Coast side);
  • Tierra Caliente (Hot land, Tropical) up to 2,500 ft (about 750 m - 1,000 m).

Crops: Cacao, Banana, Sugarcane, Manioc, Sweet Potatoes, Yams.

  • Tierra Templada (Temperate land, Subtropical) up to 6,000 ft (about 1,850 m – 2,000 m)

(the warmest month has an average temperature of below 22°C or 72°F).

Crops: Coffee, Tobacco, Maize, Coca, Peruvian Pepper (Schinus molle), Avocado, Guave (Psidium guajava), Cherimoya, Plum, Citrus fruits.

  • Tierra Fria (Cool land, Temperate) below 12,000 ft (about 3,600 m, Treeline)

(the warmest month has an average temperature of below 18°C or 64°F).

Crops: Potato, Maize, Squash, Passionfruit, Papaya, Peach, Wheat, Rye, and Barley. Farming of cattle.

(the definition of Treeline of Coniferae: the warmest month has an average temperature of below 10°C or 50°F ).

Crops above Tree line: Quinoa, Cañigua, Mashua, Oca, Tarhui, Broad beans and Ulluco. Farming of Sheep, Lamas and Alpacas.

Terrestrial Biome Type 10: Montane grasslands and shrublands

(just warmer than -1°C over rocks or just warmer than -3°C over snow, annual mean temperature). [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Javier Pulgar Vidal's Version

Altitudinal variation in the Andes.

The Peruvian geographer Javier Pulgar Vidal divided Peru in 8 regions (traditionally, it was costa, sierra and selva):

Map from República del Perú - Instituto Geográfico Nacional

  • Chala (West, Pacific Coast) 0– 500 m
  • Omagua (Lowland jungle or Selva baja, Amazonic rainforest) 80– 400 m
  • Rupa-Rupa (Highland jungle, Selva alta) 400– 1,000 m
  • Yunga (Aymaran for “Warm Lands”, Cloud forest)
    • Loma-Vegetation (West, “Yunga costal” at the North of Peru) 450– 600 m
    • Fluvial Yungas (East, “Yunga fluvial”) 1,000- 2,300 m
  • Quechua (East, High valleys) 2,300– 3,500 m
  • Suni (or Jalca or Sallqa too, high plateaus and cliffs) 3,500– 4,100 m
  • Puna (means "mountain top") 4,100– 4,800 m
  • Janca (means white) above 4,800 m, permafrost, rocks, snow and ice [8]

Notes

  • Biomes & Ecoregions nearby: [9]

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests

-. Bolivian Yungas [10]

-. Peruvian Yungas [11]

-. Southwest Amazon moist forests [12]

Montane grasslands and shrublands

-. Central Andean dry puna [13]

-. Central Andean puna [14]

-. Central Andean wet puna [15]

Deserts and xeric shrublands

-. Atacama desert [16]

-. Sechura desert [17]

Overview - Amazonic side

  • Mouth of the Amazon River, Atlantic Ocean
    • Belém, Brazil, 24 m, annual mean temperature 26.0°C
    • Gurupa varzea (NT0126) [18]
    • Manaus, Brazil, 72 m, annual mean temperature 26.6°C
    • Monte Alegre varzea (NT0141) [19]
    • Purus varzea (NT0156) [20]
  • Colombia - Peru - Brazil border
    • Leticia, Colombia, 84 m, annual mean temperature 25.8°C
    • Tierra Caliente or Tropical Rainforest
      • Omagua or Selva baja (Southwest Amazon moist forests - NT0166) [21]
      • Iquitos, Peru, 126 m, annual mean temperature 26.2°C
      • Rupa-Rupa or Selva alta (Iquitos varzea - NT0128) [22]
    • Yunga fluvial (more than 5°C colder than the Peruan Tropics)
      • Peruvian Yungas (NT0153) [23]
    • Quechua (High valleys, more than 10°C colder than the Peruan Tropics)
  • Treeline
    • Tierra Helada
      • Suni (plateau)
  • Mountain pass
    • Puna (mountain slope)
      • Central Andean wet puna (NT1003) [24]
      • Central Andean puna (NT1002) [25]
    • "Andean-Alpine desert"
  • Snow line
    • Tierra Nevada or Janca
  • Peak

Estimated Temperatures - Continental Divide

Explanations:

  • Region, altitude (m); avg annual precipitation (mm); avg annual temperature (°C);
  • Peruvian Highland Rainforest (Tropical climate), Cloud forest (Subtropical climate) and Temperate forest (Temperate climate);
  • Cusco reference, estimated avg annual temperature (°C, Lowland Rainforest or Selva baja gets more rain, so it is more cloudy, so it is cooler);
  • Snow line reference, Humboldt cold current/ Pacific climate influence, estimated avg annual temperature (°C). [26]
    • Cuzco, Peru; 3,249 m; avg annual temperature 12.5 °C; avg annual precipitation 736 mm.
    • Lima, Peru; 30 m; avg annual temperature 19.2 °C (fog influence); avg annual precipitation 15 mm.
Altitude West - Pacific side East - Amazonian side
Highland Rainforest or Selva alta 400 m  - 26.5 °C
Loma-Vegetation 500 m about 21.1 °C  -
Cloud forest or Fluvial Yunga 1,000 m  - 23.5 °C
Quechua - Montane Valleys 2,300 m  - 17.2 °C
Amazonian Tree line of Coniferae: 10 °C about 3,500 m  - about 10 °C
Mountain pass influence 4,100 m about 3.4 °C (about 7.1 °C)
Vegetation end about 4,800 m about 0.0 °C  -
Snow line about 5,000 m about -1.0 °C  -

Example: Kallawaya Region, Bolivia

Altitudinal Zonation: Kallawaya Region, around Charazani, Bolivia (border to Peru).

  • Glacier
    • Altitude: 5,900- 5,200 m, Annual mean temperature: below 0 °C, Agriculture: none
  • High Mountain Desert, Werneria ciliolata on scree
    • Altitude: 5,200- 5,000 m, Annual mean temperature: below 0 °C - 0 °C, Agriculture: none.
  • Grass Zone
    • Calamagrostis minima Steppe,
      • Altitude: 5,000- 4,600 m, Annual mean temperature: 0- 3.5 °C, Farming: alpacas, lamas.
    • Pycnophyllum Steppe,
      • Altitude: 4,600- 4,300 m, Annual mean temperature: 3.5- 7.5 °C, Farming: alpacas, lamas.
    • Aciachne Humid Grassland,
      • Altitude: 4,300- 3,900 m, Annual mean temperature: 7.5- 10.0 °C, Farming: alpacas, lamas, pigs; Agriculture: bitter potatoes, (oca), (oat); Fallow land: more than 8 years.
  • Shrub Zone
    • Satureja Shrub (westslope), Baccharis pentandii Shrub, with Berberis (eastslope),
      • Altitude: 3,900- 3,600 m, Annual mean temperature: 10.0- 11.5 °C, Farming: sheep; Agriculture: potatoes, oca, ulluco, barley; Fallow land: 3 to 4 years.
    • Mutisia Shrub (westslope), Baccharis pentlandii Shrub, with Siphocampylus (eastslope),
      • Altitude: 3,600- 2,700 m, Annual mean temperature: 11.5- 16.5 °C, Farming: sheep, cattle; Agriculture: wheat, (barley), peas, beans, maize up to 3,500 m with crop rotation.
    • Kaunia longipetiolata Shrub,
    • Highland Rainforest,
      • Altitude: below 2,700 m, Annual mean temperature: over 17.0 °C, Farming: cattle; Agriculture: tropical fruits, oranges, coffee, coca at around 2,000 m. [27]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ Pulgar Vidal, Javier: Geografía del Perú; Las Ocho Regiones Naturales del Perú. Edit. Universo S.A., Lima 1979. First Edition (his dissertation of 1940): Las ocho regiones naturales del Perú, Boletín del Museo de historia natural „Javier Prado“, n° especial, Lima, 1941, 17, pp. 145-161.
  2. ^ Benavides Estrada, Juan (1999); Geografía del Perú 2do año de Secuandaria. Lima: Escuela Nueva.
  3. ^ Brigitta Schütt (2005); Azonale Böden und Hochgebirgsböden [1]
  4. ^ Zech, W. and Hintermaier-Erhard, G. (2002); Böden der Welt – Ein Bildatlas, Heidelberg, p. 98.
  5. ^ Christopher Salter, Joseph Hobbs, Jesse Wheeler and J. Trenton Kostbade (2005); Essentials of World Regional Geography 2nd Edition. NY: Harcourt Brace. p.464-465.
  6. ^ Middle America: Altitudinal Zonation [2]
  7. ^ http://www.andix.com/huaraz_maps/huaraz.html Maps of the Cordillera Blanca - Peru
  8. ^ Pulgar Vidal, Javier: Geografía del Perú; Las Ocho Regiones Naturales del Perú. Edit. Universo S.A., Lima 1979. First Edition (his dissertation of 1940): Las ocho regiones naturales del Perú, Boletín del Museo de historia natural „Javier Prado“, n° especial, Lima, 1941, 17, pp. 145-161.
  9. ^ http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/terrestrial.html WWF Global 200: World Map of 14 Terrestrial Biomes and 867 Ecoregions
  10. ^ NT0105 Bolivian Yungas, WWF [3]
  11. ^ NT0153 Peruvian Yungas, WWF [4]
  12. ^ NT0166 Southwest Amazon moist forests, WWF [5]
  13. ^ NT1001 Central Andean dry puna, WWF [6]
  14. ^ NT1002 Central Andean puna, WWF [7]
  15. ^ NT1003 Central Andean wet puna, WWF [8]
  16. ^ NT1303 Atacama desert, WWF [9]
  17. ^ NT1315 Sechura desert, WWF [10]
  18. ^ Gurupa varzea (NT0126) [11]
  19. ^ Monte Alegre varzea (NT0141) [12]
  20. ^ Purus varzea (NT0156) [13]
  21. ^ Southwest Amazon moist forests (NT0166) [14]
  22. ^ Iquitos varzea (NT0128) [15]
  23. ^ Peruvian Yungas (NT0153) [16]
  24. ^ Central Andean wet puna (NT1003) [17]
  25. ^ Central Andean puna (NT1002) [18]
  26. ^ http://www.klimadiagramme.de/
  27. ^ Seibert, Paul; Farbatlas Südamerika, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, 1996.

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