Puna (Andes)
The term Puna (from the same name Aymara or Quechua high country ) is ambiguous and is used for more or less similar terms:
- The Puna ecoregion is an altitude level of the Andes from approx. 4000 to 4800 m above sea level (according to Javier Pulgar Vidal ); In order to avoid confusion, we recommend the designation "Ecoregion Puna". The name is also used today for other tropical mountains.
- The typical grass vegetation of the ecoregion is also denoted by the word Puna ; to avoid confusion, we recommend the term "Puna vegetation".
- A somewhat lower lying high desert in the Andes of Argentina is also called Puna .
- The Municipio Puna in Bolivia also bears this name, and the Puno region around Puno in southern Peru is sometimes incorrectly spelled that way; In order to avoid confusion, one should correctly state as “Municipio Puna” or “Region Puno”.
Ecoregion
The Puna ecoregion corresponds to the alpine altitude level of the treeless, marginal and subtropical highland steppes in the altitudes of the Andes between 15 ° and 27 ° southern latitude and thus covers the high Andes from central Peru to the south over the landscape of the Altiplano to western Bolivia and beyond to northern Chile and northwest Argentina . In addition, the name is used for some special alpine locations in the mountains of East Africa and New Guinea .
In contrast to the Páramo ecoregion further north in the equatorial area , the Puna is characterized by more or less strong seasonal climatic fluctuations between a winter dry season (May to October) and a summer rainy season (November to April). In addition, the daily temperature fluctuations are far greater than in Páramo (increasing due to the distance to the equator and when it is more dry). During the dry season - when the grass turns yellow and hardened - it is literally summer during the day and winter at night. In the rainy season, fresh, new shoots form. In the course of the year, the temperatures on the ground fluctuate between +50 and −20 ° C. Stormy winds (which, among other things, prevent tree growth) are common.
As you can see from the map shown above on the right, the puna is subdivided into four types according to the annual amount of precipitation ( humidity or aridity ) from northeast to southwest:
- Moist grass puna with 1000 - 2000 mm
- Semi-wet puna with 400 - 1000 mm (grass covering the whole area / drying time less than 6 months)
- Dry puna with 100 - 400 mm (grasses in single clumps / dry time over 6 months)
- Desert-like puna with 0 - 100 mm (thorn bushes, succulents / dry season up to 8.5 months and sickle dunes , salt desert / dry season up to 12 months)
In addition to precipitation, a major factor for plant growth is the high level of UV radiation , which leads to dwarfism at altitudes above 4500 m .
Large parts of the Puna vegetation are dominated by Punagras ( Stipa ichu or Jarava ichu ). Other grass species are Festuca orthophylla , Festuca dolichophylla , Calamagrostis species and Tutura ( Scirpus californicus ) . The woody flora includes Puya raimondii , Polylepis species, Opuntia ( Opuntia floccosa , Opuntia lagopus , Opuntia ignescens ), Baccharis species, Buddleja coriacea and Azorella yareta .
The climate is cold with very frequent night frosts and variable, overall low rainfall. The surface relief is very varied, mostly wavy. There are many lakes and high plateaus in the Puna.
use
The agricultural use of the arid Puna region is limited to extensive long-distance grazing . It is very similar to the transhumance from the old world , is mainly carried out with alpacas and traditionally serves as a subsistence basis for the indigenous families . During the dry season, which can last up to eight months, the shepherds and their animals often leave the estancias in the valleys in order to find more humid areas with sufficient grass cover in the mountains. During this time, they live in huts a half to five hour walk from the estancias. The demand for alpaca wool in Peru and Bolivia is leading to a stronger market orientation of the grazing industry and, as a result, to changes in livestock technology and migration cycles. However, increased use can endanger the fragile ecosystem. Wildlife fauna include a. the wild forms of llamas and alpacas: guanacos and vicuñas .
Potatoes still thrive in this climate and are therefore the main crop in the less arid areas. Furthermore are also barley (Hordeum vulgare) and the tuber Maka ( Lepidium meyenii ) grown. The moist and semi-moist puna has been burned off by local farmers at the end of the dry season since ancient times in order to remove the dry leaves and promote the growth of the plants.
literature
- Javier Pulgar Vidal : Geografía del Perú - Las Ocho Regiones Naturales del Perú. Edit. Universo SA, Lima 1979.
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.fao.org/nr/lada/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=453&Itemid=165
- ↑ Javier Pulgar Vidal : Geografía del Perú - Las Ocho Regiones Naturales del Perú. Edit. Universo SA, Lima 1979.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Werner Rauh: Tropical high mountain plants: Growth and life forms , Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, London, Paris, Tokyo 1988, ISBN 978-3-540-17388-5 , p. 21– 29
- ↑ Conradin Burga , Frank Klötzli and Georg Grabherr (eds.): Mountains of the earth - landscape, climate, flora. Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-4165-5 . P. 35.
- ↑ Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database USDA: Stipa ichu . accessed February 14, 2017.
- ↑ taxon: Jarava ichu Ruiz & Pav. . In: Germplasm Resources Information Network . United States Department of Agriculture. May 17, 2006. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- ↑ Axel Borsdorf u. Christoph Stadel: The Andes: A geographical portrait. Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg 2013, ISBN 978-3-8274-2457-0 . Pp. 276-277.
