MOUNTAIN FOREST: CHARACTERISTICS, FLORA, FAUNA AND CLIMATE - GEOGRAPHY - 2025

The mountain forest or montane forest is a forest that is located in two of the three latitudinal zones of the Earth (intertropical zone and temperate zone). It usually occupies large areas of territory.

This type of forest is under the influence of a mountain climate due to a height that exceeds 2,000 meters above sea level (msnm). It is usually common in very cold lands and can even have temperatures below zero degrees Celsius. The animals that inhabit these forests tend to have thick fur, resistant to cold.

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The vegetation of the mountain forest is usually varied: some plants become strong to survive the low temperatures, but there are other weaker ones that have broad leaves.

Among the temperate zones that are in this classification are: the Pyrenees forest (Europe), Sierra Nevada (North America) and the Himalayan forest (Asia). In the intertropical zone, there is the Andean forest (South America), the montane forest of Ethiopia (Africa) and the montane forest of New Britain (Oceania).

General characteristics

Altitude

Unlike tropical (lowland) forests, mountain forests have a higher altitude.

Mountains can reach an elevation of 3,000 meters above sea level (masl), regardless of their inclination. In these forests it is common for mountains to have abrupt changes in both their height and their level of inclination.

The altitude of mountain forests is directly related to temperature. The temperature is much lower than that of tropical forests, which causes climate changes related to cold.

There may be a certain degree of humidity in mountain forests; low temperatures cause less evaporation, but the closeness of the clouds to the mountains means that the haze is present in much of its extension.

Land extension

Mountain forests cover more than 850 million hectares of the earth's surface. These forests are scattered on all continents (except Antarctica) and in all climatic zones on Earth.

In addition, they cover large proportions of land. Some examples of extensive mountain forests are: the mountain ranges of the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Balkans (in Europe), the Appalachian and Rocky mountain ranges (in North America), the highlands of Guyana (in South America) and the Andes mountain range (in South and Central America).

Latitude

Latitude is measured horizontally between the equatorial lines and a certain point on Earth. Latitudes divide the Earth into three major zones: the intertropical zone, the temperate zone and the polar zone. In each of these areas, different types of climates, vegetation, fauna and flora predominate.

The particularity of the mountain forest is that it is concentrated in two of the three zones (the temperate zone and the intertropical zone), which allows the growth of forests of this type in various regions of the planet. For this reason, the forest presents different characteristics depending on the area where it is found.

Mountain forests and tropical forests differ in climate (mountain forests are much colder), although they share the same latitudes; this directly depends on the height at which they are.

Location

Mountain forests grow in a location that is determined by Earth's latitudes. Almost all forests of this type are spread over the three latitudinal zones, while the mountainous forest is located in two zones (the temperate and the intertropical).

Intertropical zone

The intertropical zone, also called the warm zone, is located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. This area represents the largest latitudinal strip on the planet. It occupies the northern part of South America, Central America and a small part of North America.

The continents of Asia, Oceania and Africa have areas with mountain forests with characteristics of warm zones.

Temperate zone

The temperate zone is located between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn; it constitutes two medium zones located in the northern and southern part of the intertropical zone. In the case of South America, mountain forests are found in Argentina, Chile and a part of Brazil.

The European mountain forests, for the most part, are located in the northern temperate zone of the Earth, as are those of North America (United States, part of Canada and Mexico). Much of the mountain forests of Asia and Oceania are located in this same area.

Most of the mountainous forests of Africa are in the intertropical zone. However, the North African montane forest and the South African forest are in the southern temperate zone.

Flora

-Intertropical zone

The flora of the mountain forest depends on where it is found on Earth. Mountain forests found in the intertropical zone are generally referred to as mountain forest or cloud forest.

Its nature causes additional plants to grow on tree trunks as a result of accumulated moisture.

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These additional plants that grow on the stems are usually orchids, bromeliads or mosses, and they manifest themselves with a high density. According to the humidity, the vegetation can be classified into rain forest and dry forest.

Rain forest

The mountain forests of the intertropical zone are often characterized by dense formation vegetation and leafy trees. This type of forest is home to a large number of plant species of all sizes.

The dominant plants in this area have broad leaves, with a green color that lasts all year. In addition, they are usually large trees of medium height and slow growth.

Dry forest

The mountain forests of the intertropical zone can present droughts; however, the vegetation remains uniform with respect to its broad leaves and leafy trees. In the event of a drought, trees often lose many of their leaves as a result of the lack of water.

Also, short plants can grow close to the ground. When trees are leafless, sunlight reaches the forest floor more easily. This results in the growth of new small plants.

-Temperate zone

Coniferous forest

As its name indicates, this type of forest has coniferous plants (that is, they do not have fruits). They are strong plants that can survive temperatures below zero degrees Celsius.

This type of plant occurs in the forests of the northern temperate zone and is composed of pines, firs, and similar trees.

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The leaves of coniferous trees do not fall off and can live for many years, regardless of the temperatures and climatic activities to which they are subjected. Some pines can have long, thin leaves in these forests.

Montane forest

Montane forests are also called mixed forests; in other words, of coniferous trees and fragile trees that lose their leaves due to low temperatures.

In this type of forest, activities such as agriculture and livestock can be carried out, thanks to the fertility of its soils

Hill forest

The hill forests are temperate forests that have the presence of leafy and mixed trees of low height. These types of forests are also often known as submontane forests.

Fauna

-Intertropical zone

The fauna of the mountain forest of the warm zone consists of beings that are adapted to live among the high density of the trees. This area is inhabited by a variety of birds, primates, bats, snakes, butterflies, parrots, rodents, deer, etc.

-Temperate zone

Among the animals found in temperate mountain forests, the deer stands out; This animal usually moves through high and wooded mountains, with coniferous plants.

Alpine marmots are found in most of the European massifs, at an altitude that varies between 2,000 and 3,000 meters above sea level.

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Another of the most common animals in mountain forests is the elk. It is able to scare away wolves with its height and survive the lower temperatures in the northern hemisphere, just like spotted owls.

As for birds, the marbled murrelet is a North Pacific seabird that is often identified with forests and high latitudes.

Weather

The climate of the mountain forest is usually varied and changing during the year because it is distributed throughout almost the entire globe. Each mountain forest has particular climatic characteristics, which are affected by its altitude and latitude.

Intertropical forest climate

Depending on the altitude of the intertropical mountain forest, the coldest lands usually have an average temperature between 6 and 12 degrees Celsius (it can drop to 0 degrees). Its height is between 2,000 and 3,000 meters above sea level.

Rainfall in these areas is higher than the forests in the northern and southern areas. It is common for rainfall to reach 2,000 millimeters of water annually. In some cases this figure may be higher.

The lands of medium altitude are called highland forests, and their temperature ranges between 14 and 20 degrees Celsius. It is located between 1,000 and 2,000 meters above sea level

The mountain forests of warm land have a tropical climate with a temperature higher than 18 degrees Celsius, with an average height between 300 and 700 meters above sea level.

Temperate forest climate

Coniferous forests form the highest part of the mountain forest. Its average temperature is between 0 and 8 degrees Celsius. In mixed forests, temperatures range between 8 and 15 degrees Celsius, while in hill (or Mediterranean) forests they are above 15 degrees Celsius.

Depending on the location and height, rainfall varies between 300 and 900 millimeters of water annually.

References

1. Mountain forest, Wikipedia in Spanish, (nd). Taken from wikipedia.org
2. Mountain Forests, Website Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, (nd). Taken from fao.org
3. What mountain forests do for human well-being, Portal Forests News, (2018). Taken from forestsnews.cifor.org
4. Forest characteristics, OVACEN Ecosystems, (nd). Taken from ecosystems.ovacen.com
5. Plants Epiphytes, Spanish Wikipedia, (nd). Taken from wikipedia.org