Ecosystems of Colombia types and characteristics

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Alexander Pearson
Ecosystems of Colombia types and characteristics

The ecosystems of Colombia They are grouped into 98 general types, of which 24 are human-modified ecosystems, in addition to continental, island and marine ecosystems. These ecosystems are home to enormous biodiversity with around 10% of the known species on the planet..

It is estimated that in Colombia there are about 56,724 species of plants and animals, without considering fungi, bacteria, archaea, or protists. It is one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world, among which it is generally ranked second after Brazil.

Ecosystems of Colombia. Source: Shao / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

Its abundant biological diversity is due to the geographical location of Colombia, as well as its varied relief and climate. The country is located in the extreme northwest of South America, in the middle of the tropical zone.

Therefore, it is influenced by the Andean, Amazonian and Caribbean domains of the Neotropical floristic kingdom. Likewise, it has representatives of the Guayanese flora and fauna in the outcrops present in Naquén, Chiribiquité and other areas of the south..

Its relief ranges from sea level to 5,364 meters above sea level of the Nevado del Huila volcano, the Andean region being the most mountainous. On the other hand, in the Amazon and Caribbean region the plains predominate.

Among the terrestrial ecosystems, the Andean area is the one with the greatest biodiversity in Colombia, followed by the Amazon and then the Caribbean region. While marine diversity includes ecosystems in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

Article index

  • 1 Amazon rainforest
    • 1.1 Flora
    • 1.2 Fauna
  • 2 Jungle of Chocó
    • 2.1 Flora
    • 2.2 Fauna
  • 3 Andean cloud forest
    • 3.1 Flora
    • 3.2 Fauna
  • 4 Tropical wasteland
    • 4.1 Flora
    • 4.2 Fauna
  • 5 Dry forests and warm xeric scrub
    • 5.1 Flora
    • 5.2 Fauna
  • 6 Savanna
    • 6.1 Flora
    • 6.2 Fauna
  • 7 Mangrove
    • 7.1 Flora
    • 7.2 Fauna
  • 8 Marine ecosystems
    • 8.1 Flora
    • 8.2 Fauna
  • 9 References

Amazon jungle

City of Leticia, in the Colombian Amazon

The Amazon rainforest is a complex mosaic of diverse ecosystems such as aquatic ecosystems, grasslands, swampy areas, flooded forests, low-lying forests, palm groves, and dry land forests. The latter being the one with the greatest biological diversity, popularly known as the Amazon rainforest..

Amazon rainforest in Colombia

This region has maximum temperatures of 33.8 ºC and rainfall of up to 4,277 mm, with relative humidity greater than 80%.

Flora

Victoria regia (Victoria amazonica). Source: Steven Lek / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

In the Amazonian aquatic ecosystems are the water cabbage (Pistia stratiotes), the water lily (Eichhornia crassipes) and the royal victory (Victoria amazonica). In the swamps there are low forests of yagrumo (Cecropia membranacea) as well as extensive areas dominated by grasses and sedges.

Within the forests themselves, those on the mainland and those that can be flooded are distinguished, with the latter being found as Inga nobilis. Other groups are the palm groves with a predominance of Mauritia flexuosa (Cananguchales), Mauritiella aculeata Y Leopoldinia piassaba.

While in the rainforest on the mainland, large trees like Goupia glabra, Swartzia schomburgkii Y Ferrule duckei.

Fauna

The fauna of the Colombian Amazon includes the jaguar (Panthera onca), the white-bellied spider monkey (Ateles belzebuth), the Humboldt woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagothricha) and the red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus).

Jaguar

The tapir also inhabit here (Tapirus terrestris), the collared peccary (Peccary tajacu), Linnaeus's two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) and three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus).

Among the birds are the macaws (Aras spp.), toucans (Ramphastidae) and cock-of-the-rocks (Rupicola rupicola). The latter in the enclaves that correspond to extensions of the Guiana Massif, such as the Serranía de Chiribiquete.

Chocó jungle

Chocó jungle

This jungle ecosystem extends between Colombia and Panama, being one of the tropical rain forests with the highest precipitation rate. In this area the rains vary from areas with 730 mm to areas with 13,670 mm per year, with average temperatures between 23.5 and 27.9 ° C.

In terms of relief, it ranges from plains and estuarine areas on the Pacific coast to mountain ranges such as Baudo-Darién..

Flora

In the ecosystems of Chocó, around 4,525 species of plants with seeds have been identified. Here are large tree species such as some Anacardiaceae (Anacardium excelsum Y Anacardium giganteum).

Likewise, it is inhabited by the ceiba (Ceiba pentandra), the ladle (Gyranthera darienensis) of the Malvaceae family and palms abound, large as Attalea or undergrowth like Bactris.

Ceiba pentandra

Fauna

The jaguar is presented, together with the covered howler monkey (Alouatta palliata) and the arboreal anteater (Mexican tamandua). Another species of primate that inhabits this ecosystem is the Colombian black-headed spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps rufiventris).

Mexican Tamandua couple

Also characteristic is Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) and the Chocó toucan (Ramphastos brevis).

Andean cloud forest

Andean cloud forest

The cloud forest is one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world, being a tropical forest with a complex structure. This ecosystem is high mountain, between 700 and 3,200 meters above sea level, with annual rainfall of 1,000 to 2,000 mm and average temperatures of 20 ° C.

Two to three tree strata are observed in this jungle, with a canopy close to 40 m in the middle cloud forest. The undergrowth is not very dense with grasses, palms and shrubs, as well as abundant vines and epiphytes.

Flora

In this ecosystem is cinchona (Cinchona officinalis) a plant highly valued for its medicinal value for malaria control. As well as large trees like the male avocado (Ocotea calophylla) and tropical conifers such as Podocarpus oleifolius.

Cinchona officinalis. Source: James Steakley / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

A fast-growing species that harbors ants in its hollow trunk (myrmecófila), called yagrumo (Cecropia pastasana). In the Eastern Cordillera the southernmost limit in American oak is reached (Quercus), with the species Quercus humboldtii.

Fauna

Here lives the spectacled bear or frontin bear (Tremarctos ornatus), the three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) and the Andean tapir (Tapirus pinchaque). Similarly primates such as the brown spider monkey (Ateles hybridus) and the Colombian woolly monkey (Lagothrix lugens) critically endangered.

Three-toed sloth

The pudu (Pudu mephistophiles) is another species typical of these forests and even of the moors, being the smallest species of deer in the world.

Tropical wasteland

Paramo of Colombia. Source: Jdpperez / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

The tropical Páramo ecosystem is one of the most biodiverse on the planet, consisting of high mountain shrubs and grasslands. It develops above the tree growth limit, beyond 3,100 meters above sea level to the snow limit (4,800 meters above sea level).

The precipitations are relatively high (800 to 2,000 mm) like the solar radiation and the annual temperature averages can be around 15 ºC. There are night temperatures below 0 ° C due to the altitude.

The vegetation typical of this ecosystem is the grassland of species with pad or rosette leaves, with succulent or sclerotized (hard) leaves..

Flora

Some 3,173 species of vascular plants have been identified in the Colombian moors, being the emblematic genus Espeletia, of the compound family. They are perennial subshrubs with rosette, succulent and hairy leaves, with around 70 endemic species called frailejones..

On the other hand, there is the genus Polylepis Rosaceae, which are the trees that grow at the highest altitude in the world. With two species in this country, Polylepis ochreata in the extreme south of Colombia, and Polylepis sericea in the middle.

Fauna

The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) and the hummingbird (Oreotrochilus estella). There are also other species such as the collared lizard (Stenocercus lache) of the Eastern mountain range and the tapeti hare (Sylvilagus brasiliensis).

Andean condor

Dry forests and warm xeric scrub

These are deciduous and semi-deciduous forests, as well as thickets in arid areas. In Colombia these ecosystems occur mainly to the north and northeast, in the Caribbean plain and the Guajira peninsula or in the Orinoco plains..

In areas with a long dry season and little availability of groundwater, deciduous forests develop. While in the Department of La Guajira to the extreme northeast, where the drought is more extreme, there are xeric scrubs.

Average high temperatures of 33 ° C (maximum of 39.8 ° C) and precipitation is 546 mm.

Flora

Trees of the genera Pithecellobium, Acacia, Albizia Y Handroanthus, as well as the flying or white cedar (Gyrocarpus americanus). While in semi-deciduous forests there are species such as the ear-ear (Enterolobium cyclocarpum) and the ceiba (Ceiba pentandra).

Gyrocarpus americanus

Cacti (Cactaceae) and legumes with genera such as Prosopis, Acacia and others.

Fauna

Birds such as the red-crowned cardonero (Coryphospingus pileatus), the Tocuyo sparrow (Arremonops tocuyensis) and the cardinal vermilion or king guajiro (Cardinalis phoeniceus). Also, snakes like the rattlesnake (Crotalus spp.), marsupials such as the common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) and other mammals such as the crab fox (Pigcyon thousand).

Didelphis marsupialis

bed sheet

bed sheet

It is an ecosystem of plains from 200 to 600 meters above sea level, dominated by grasses, with a plant structure formed by a herbaceous layer. Wooded savannas are also present, as well as jungles along the rivers that cross the plains (gallery jungles).

Here the climate is markedly seasonal, with a dry season lasting 3 to 6 months and a rainy season, with relatively high rainfall and warm temperatures..

Flora

Grasses dominate, especially the genera Paspalum, Panicum Y Andropogon among many others. In the wooded savannas there are also species of large trees such as the caracaro (Enterolobium cyclocarpum).

Enterolobium cyclocarpum

Likewise, there are wooded savannas with palms, such as the llanera palm (Copernicia tectorum).

Fauna

In these plains crossed by great rivers inhabits the chigüire or capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) and the anaconda (Eunectes murinus). Various birds are also present, such as the jabirú (Jabiru mycteria), the Orinoco goose (Neochen jubata) and the scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber).

Eunectes murinus or green anaconda

They are also inhabited by the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).

Mangrove swamp

Mangrove swamp

It is an ecosystem located on the border between land and sea, with a gradation of species from the mainland to entering the sea water. This ecosystem is found both in the continental and insular coastal areas of Colombia.

In the first case, there is the delta of the Magdalena River in the Caribbean Sea, and in the second on the island of San Andrés. It is characterized by a highly saline substrate, strong solar radiation, rainfall of 500 to 1,000 mm and high temperatures (maximum of 32 ºC).

Flora

The black or salty mangrove is presented (Avicenia germinans Y Avicennia tonduzii), the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle Y Rhizophora harrisonii) and the yellow mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa). Other species are the zaragoza mangrove or bobo (Conocarpus erectus), the tea mangrove (Pelliciera rizophorae) and the red nato (Blackberry megistosperm Y Mora oleifera).

Rhizophora mangle. Source: Ulf Mehlig / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)

Fauna

The mangrove fauna includes the needle caiman (Crocodylus acutus) and the stifle (Caiman crocodilus fuscus). As well as the Magdalena river turtle (Podocnemis lewyana) and snakes like the boa (Boa constrictor) and the map or size x (Botrops atrox).

Among the birds is the Caribbean pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis). In addition there are about 46 species of mammals, such as the howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus). Others are the white-faced monkey (Cebus albifrons), the savanna deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis).

Ocelot

Marine ecosystems

Colombia has marine ecosystems in both the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, with 892,102 km² of marine area and 3,531 km of coastline. Within the variety of marine ecosystems present, 7 general types are recognized.

These include continental coral ecosystems, oceanic coral ecosystems, two types of soft bottoms and two hard bottoms. As well as seagrass ecosystems, generally associated with mangroves.

Flora

The flora of these ecosystems basically encompasses a great diversity of both macroscopic and microscopic algae (plankton). However, near the coasts in the Caribbean are seagrass beds (vascular plants).

Among these the species Thalassia testudinum (turtle grass), Syringodium filiforme Y Halodule wrightii. In addition, the species Halophila decipiens, Halophila baillons Y Maritime rupee.

Thalassia testudinum

Fauna

Chopa (Kyphosus vaigiensis). Source: NPS photo - Bill Eichenlaub / Public domain

The fauna is extensive in these ecosystems, especially in fish species, such as the bobo (Polydactylus opercularis) and the chopa (Kyphosus vaigiensis). Just as the mere (Epinephelus labriformis) and horse mackerel (Caranx canninus).

The manatee is also found in these areas (Trichechus manatus), an aquatic mammal. Among the mollusks oysters are located as the species Ostrea iridescens and the potsSiphorania gigas Y Fissurella virescens), among multiple species.

sea ​​cow

In coral reefs there are numerous species of all marine groups, including the various species of coral polyps (Cnidaria).

References

  1. Correa, S.L., Turbay, S. and Vélez, M. (2012). Local ecological knowledge on marine ecosystems in two coastal communities: El Valle and Sapzurro. Management and Environment Magazine.
  2. Moreno-Bejarano, L.M. and Álvarez-León, R. (2003). Fauna associated with mangroves and other wetlands in the delta-estuary of the Magdalena River, Colombia. Rev. Acad. Colomb. science.
  3. Rangel, J.O. (Ed.) (2004). Colombia. Biotic diversity IV. The Chocó biogeographic / Pacific Coast. National university of Colombia.
  4. Rangel, J.O. (Ed.) (2007). Colombia. Biotic diversity V. The high mountain of the Serranía de Perijá. National university of Colombia.
  5. Rangel, J.O. (Ed.) (2008). Colombia. Biotic diversity VII. Vegetation, palynology and paleoecology of the Colombian Amazon. National university of Colombia.
  6. Raven, P., Evert, R. F. and Eichhorn, S. E. (1999). Biology of plants.
  7. Sanchez. F. (2000). Inventory of mammals in an Andean forest in the department of Caldas, Colombia. Scientific Bulletin, Natural History Museum, University of Caldas.
  8. Colombian Environmental Information System. (As seen on July 4, 2020). Taken from: http://www.siac.gov.co/biodiversidad
  9. World Wild Life (Viewed on July 4, 2020). Taken from: worldwildlife.org/biomes/

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