The paramo It is a type of natural system of certain complexity, exclusive to the mountains, where particular forms of life and peoples develop whose customs and characteristics enrich the cultural variety of the planet..
It is a complex ecosystem that occurs between eternal snows, forests and crops. The South American Andean páramo is the best known, although it also exists in East Africa, Central America and New Guinea. According to its function and the geographical distribution of plants and animals, it can be classified into super-moor and sub-moor.
The moors are key areas, since thanks to their altitude and climate they have the function of retaining water and maintaining control or balance between loss and contribution of this within the ecosystem. This allows that in times of summer and drought the water is conducted by infiltration to the lowlands to form aqueducts, streams, streams and rivers..
Fog, drizzle and swirling clouds that adhere to the rocks are climatic phenomena typical of the moors, unknown and shadowy regions that play a preponderant role in the mountain-man exchange, transforming into mythical, legendary and sacred places..
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- They are areas of high humidity during most of the year. They have abundant cloudiness; they are rainy and cloudy because they have a mountainous relief caused by the Andes mountain range. There is also the presence of snow on the mountain peaks.
- The weather often changes, going from insolation to thick cloud cover. Temperatures can drop to 0 degrees or less. They are extremely cold areas, with wet blizzards and sleet.
- They are landscapes of irregular, rugged and rough relief with fragments of large rocks and other smaller, flat and undulating ones. It is an orography product of the displacement of glaciers; when their pieces were detached, they traveled to the area and settled. It consists of steep and steep slopes that facilitate the descent of the waters.
- They have wide valleys as a result of the transit of huge blocks of ice that gave them depth and a "U" shape, creating a plain between two slopes. There are also valleys in "V", which are very deep, and are formed from the passage of water currents. There are waterfalls and streams that lead the water to the low areas.
- There is presence of lakes and tributaries, which are sources of the great rivers that are located in the north of South America. It is a source of life with great importance within the hydrological cycle and functions as a carbon bilge, a determining action within climate patterns..
- The soils of these regions are volcanic: in the south they are the product of weathered rock, and in the center and north due to volcanic ash. These are very dark because of the large amount of organic matter that remains buried.
- Grass species, grasslands, forests and bushes predominate. Animals often change places in search of better conditions for reproduction and feeding. The presence of vegetation in some areas is an indication of the nearby existence of water.
According to the different altitudes that determine their temperature, these biomes can be classified into three types:
It has an average temperature of 5 ° C. There is a predominance of frailejones, as well as very dark and carbon-rich decomposing organic material. It is spongy and you can see in its composition the plant material that gave it origin (peat), in addition to the grasslands.
It is located in the upper part of the moor. The low temperatures characteristic of this area (averaging at 2 ° C) only allow the growth of low-rise vegetation.
This vegetation is called alpine tundra and grows at ground level. Some examples of alpine tundra are lichens, mosses, and grasses. In the super-moor there are also pastures and frailejones.
It is located in the lower part of the páramo and has a temperature that ranges between 8 and 10 ° C. It gives way to a vegetation of low trees and some shrubs.
It is located near the forested area and exhibits lush peat bogs, as well as several grasslands and open vegetation.
The flora of the páramos responds to a type of adaptive vegetation, since it must face rigorous climatic conditions and nutrient-poor soils that do not favor its development..
The height of these regions is home to very low temperatures, as well as elements such as fog, snow and icy winds that directly affect their characteristics..
In this region there is a vegetation whose vertical structure is distributed between grasses, shrubs, herbs, tundra and peat. There we find trees of low height and permanent leaves, as well as lichens, mosses and grasses..
Indeed, the harsh conditions of this climate challenge their vegetation, which develops astonishing forms of adaptation that allow them to withstand frosty nights, days of suffocating solar radiation and very poor soils in the nutritional field. Sometimes inclement seasonal droughts can even occur.
For example, there are plants of the bush type that develop resistant and small leaves, which make it easier for them to maintain green for longer in the year and retain water; this allows their growth. In general, the leaves in vegetables are covered with a soft and very fine wool or trichome..
Among the main species of the flora of the páramo, the following stand out:
- The frailejón.
- Moor moss.
- The star of the wasteland.
- The seven red hides.
- Thristerix flowers.
- The blue phyto.
- The cardón.
- Sage.
- The alstroemerias.
- Purple tobacco.
- Scrub.
- The chuscales (bamboo).
The animals that can be found in the moors remain in motion, they go from one place to another seeking better conditions to live.
Likewise, some have had to develop certain capacities to adapt to the strong incidence of the sun and extreme low temperatures..
Rodents, birds, bears, amphibians, reptiles and deer are some of the species that can be found. These animals have abundant hair that protects them from an extremely cold winter climate.
In addition to those mentioned above, the vulture, antelope, snowy owl, redfish, báquiro, condor, guinea fowl, ant, dog, lizards, snakes and some fish such as trout also stand out..
The environmental conditions present in the Colombian mountain range are diverse and unique. The mountain range located in the east is extremely humid as a result of the continental winds that come from the Amazon and Orinoquía..
The lower western one is also humid due to the influx of currents from the South Pacific. For its part, the central mountain range is less humid because it is at a higher altitude.
Its vegetation has at least 112 plant communities, a product of heterogeneous environmental and morphological conditions determined by the temperatures of the area, as well as the humidity and the condition of the soils..
You can see the so-called dwarf forests, frailejonales, scrubs, ericaceae and chuscales. In other areas we find peat bogs and xeromorphic species.
As for the fauna, the food resources of the moor are few and the climate is not conducive; this makes it a temporary habitat for large mammals, such as bear, deer, puma and tapir among others. There is also a unique species in the area: the spectacled bear, very attractive to hunters.
The birds are of various sizes. The giant hummingbirds (nectarivores) and the majestic condors and hawks stand out, as well as owls and owls. Rodents, miniature mammals, reptiles, amphibians and marsupials make up this diverse fauna.
Among the main Colombian moors, the following stand out:
- Chingaza.
- Frontino.
- Wastelands.
- Tota-Bijagual-Mamapacha.
- Santurbán.
- Sisavita.
- Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
The area occupied by the moors in Venezuela is 2700 km². 75% are located in the state of Mérida; They can also be found in Trujillo and Táchira, and on top of the peaks of the Dinira National Park in Lara state..
In the Venezuelan moors, precipitation is scarce and the temperature is quite low. These occur at heights greater than three thousand meters.
They are infertile soils, uncovered, of a color that in the distance appears grayish, due to the appearance of the friar's hairy leaf, covered with silky hairs that protect it from the weather..
The fauna and flora have managed to adapt to the daily seasonal changes, ranging from very low temperatures at night to an incandescent sun during the day, very low atmospheric pressure and drought..
Regarding the fauna, we find species circumscribed to specific areas (endemic). The fauna is not prolific but it is varied.
Regarding the vegetation, the tabacote, the sparkler, the frailejón, the corn, the Spanish flag, the sage, the saní and the cizaña are found as regular species of the area, all with flowers of multiple colors forming the natural prism.
Most of the Venezuelan moors are protected under the figure of natural monuments and national parks. Some of the most prominent Venezuelan moors are the following:
- Niquitao-Guirigay tit.
- Battalion Badlands.
- Culata wasteland.
- The Black.
- Sierra Nevada.
- Sierra de Perijá.
- Guaramacal.
- Dinira.
The páramos are found in the high parts of the Ecuadorian Andes, and are perceived as smaller land masses, close to each other.
The inhabitants of the area have determined that the swampy, frailejón, shrubby, dry and pajonal moorlands occur there, and occupy approximately 5% of the territory.
As in other regions that have this ecosystem, its fauna and flora adapt to the strong changes in temperature during the day and at night..
The vegetation consists of wide grasslands that are nuanced between lagoons, as well as small forests within a landscape of mountains carved by the force of mythical glaciers.
The fauna is relatively varied although it is scarce. Among the main species are amphibians, reptiles, birds and some mammals.
In this area there is also a diversity of invertebrate fauna, all with a capacity for climatic adaptation that allows them to reproduce, develop and survive..
This ecological region is known in Mexico by the name of zacatonal. It is a mountain grassland and scrub biome that is found along the transversal chain of volcanoes and extends up to approximately 306 square kilometers.
It is an alpine tundra climate, with low temperatures and little rainfall during the year. It is a very humid area, since evaporation is a very slow process due to the sub-zero temperatures that last from 6 to 10 months. Below the surface is permafrost, since it is always frozen.
In relation to the fauna, a great variety of rabbits, reptiles such as the rattlesnake, birds of prey and different species of insects are the characteristic species of the area..
Regarding the flora, the zacatonales have managed to adapt to the inclement cold weather. Mosses, fungi, lichens, grass known as stipa ichu and the tundra represent the emblematic vegetation of this ecosystem. Tree development is not possible, since it is above the limit of the forest zone.
Among the main Mexican moors, the following stand out:
- The snowy mountains of Colima.
- The snowy mountains of Toluca.
- The Orizaba peak.
- The Iztaccíhuatl volcano.
- The popocatepetl vulcan.
Both in Chile and Argentina the highlands or mountain ranges are better known as punas. These are regions with little oxygen and very low atmospheric pressure, with a cold climate and little rainfall per year..
In Argentina the puna is accentuated in the vast area of Atacama. It is an extension of the plateau that is fragmenting into a ribbon of depressions and mountains, which gradually reduce its height until reaching 3,700 above sea level, in the Jujuy puna..
Small open queñoa forests are common and tend to grow in streams and slopes, at altitudes above 3,800 m.
As for the fauna of both regions, the llama is the domestic species. Other more wild species -such as the camelids, the guanaco and the real skunk, among others- also make up the endemic fauna of these regions..
The Andean highlands in Chile is part of an ecological area called the dry puna in the central Andes. In Chile an area that is from 4000 meters above sea level can be considered as a puna.
This space is characterized by presenting grasses on the north side and desert flowers to the south. As in other similar biomes, the climate is steppe and desert, with a predominance of grasslands..
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