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39-658: The Northern Andean Páramo global ecoregion includes the Cordillera Central páramo (Ecuador, Peru), Santa Marta páramo (Colombia), Cordillera de Merida páramo (Venezuela) and Northern Andean páramo (Colombia, Ecuador) terrestrial ecoregions. The Costa Rican páramo in Costa Rica and Panama is another páramo ecoregion. In the strictest sense of the term, all páramo ecosystems are in the Neotropics , specifically South and Central America. Scattered throughout

78-471: A "yellowish to olive–brown" look due to the combination of dead and living grasses. The grass páramo extends from approximately 3,500–4,100 m (11,500–13,500 ft), and is composed of mostly tussock grasses . Calamagrostis intermedia and other grasses of the genera Calamagrostis and Festuca tend to dominate this zone. Other common vegetation includes large and small shrubs, stunted trees, cushion plants, herbs, and rosette plants. While these are

117-486: A huge additional páramo disturbance. Increases in temperature extremes are forcing many fauna and flora species to higher grounds, and eventually they could face extinction. The flora of páramos is adapted to specific conditions and is thus vulnerable to even small climate changes. Climate change in the Andes is causing glaciers in the páramo to disappear and a drop in rainfall, virtually drying up páramo and in turn, drying up

156-441: A relatively low pH because of an abundance of moisture and organic content. Organic content, even within disturbed sites averages very high which contributes to water retention in the soil. During cold and wet weather, there are few nutrients available and productivity is very low in páramo soils. Soils in páramo ecosystems have changed because of human activity, especially due to burning vegetation to clear land for grazing. Soils in

195-442: A sudden and drastic change in weather in which they fluctuate between temperatures from below freezing to 10 °C (50 °F). This oscillation often results in a daily freeze-and-thaw cycle. Mean annual temperatures of páramo ecosystems range from 2 to 10 °C (36 to 50 °F), with increasingly colder temperatures at higher latitudes. Soils in páramo ecosystems vary, but most are young and partially weathered. The soil has

234-602: Is caused by northeasterly trade winds. Southern Ecuador and northern Peru experience the most severe dryness as they are influenced by an air mass from the Amazon Basin, which releases its moisture on the eastern slopes, as well as another air mass from the west that is influenced by the Humboldt Current . Overall, páramo climates are known for their daily fluctuations in temperature and humidity. While they are generally cold and humid ecosystems, they often undergo

273-569: Is endangered. The ecoregion has three endemic bird species. Endangered birds include the bearded guan ( Penelope barbata ) and red-faced parrot ( Hapalopsittaca pyrrhops ). The rufous-breasted warbling finch ( Poospiza rubecula ) is also endangered. Other fauna include the Huancabamba whorltail lizard ( Stenocercus huancabambae ), the frogs Astrotheca galeata , Gastrotheca lateonata , Lynchius parkeri , Gastrotheca nebulanastes and genus Eleutherodactylus and butterflies of

312-562: Is in the neotropical realm, in the montane grasslands and shrublands biome. The wet shrublands are the most southern group of páramos in the Neotropical realm . The great Huancabamba Depression lies to the south of the ecoregion, a barrier that prevents flora and fauna from migrating between the north and south Andes mountains. The ecoregion is part of the Northern Andean Páramo global ecoregion, which includes

351-625: The Cotopaxi Province of Ecuador. Much of this park is páramo. Its flora includes gentians , clubmosses , valerians , and asters such as Loricaria and Chuquiraga species. Páramo climates differ slightly depending on the specific location. In Colombia and northern Ecuador, air masses from the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) have a substantial effect on the climate, and these regions tend to be consistently humid (approx. 70–85%) throughout

390-553: The Eastern Cordillera Real montane forests ecoregion. Further south it adjoins or is surrounded by Tumbes–Piura dry forests , Marañón dry forests , Peruvian Yungas , Ucayali moist forests , Sechura Desert and Central Andean wet puna . The Cordillera Central páramo begins at the treeline around 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) of elevation and extends upward to the permanent snowline at about 4,500 metres (14,800 ft). Some mountains are volcanic in origin from

429-566: The Marañón dry forests , central Peruvian Yungas and central Andean puna . Vegetation includes tussock grasses and cushion plants , shrubs and sedges, often with an under-layer of lichens and moss. The lower levels of páramo merge into dwarf transitional forest and montane cloud forest. The characteristic vegetation consists of plants of the genera Calamagrostis , Agrostis and Hypericum , There are also shrubs of genera such as Polylepis and Escallonia . The isolated position of

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468-481: The Tertiary period, but there are also Paleozoic metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, Paleocene batholiths and areas of Precambrian rock. Terrain includes steep slopes on the high peaks, and flat or rolling tablelands cut by deep valleys in which the climate is milder. Soils are wet or marshy, with rocky regions and rock outcroppings. The páramo is the source of many streams that run down the east and west slopes of

507-597: The Americas they introduced exotic plants and animals that greatly affected the land, especially cattle, which were introduced to the páramos in the early 18th century. By the 20th century the growing population of settlers led to an increased demand for land, and páramo ecosystems suffered accordingly. As more land was needed for cattle, fire was used to clear land, and eventually páramos became excessively burned and overgrazed. Both burning and grazing have damaged vegetation, soils, species diversity, and water storage capacity of

546-462: The Andes and provide an important source of water to the human populations lower down. In Peru it supplies the Quirós , Huancabamba and Chinchipe rivers. The Köppen climate classification is "Cfb": warm temperate, fully humid, warm summer. The climate is cold, wet and very cloudy, with high rainfall. Temperatures generally fall below freezing at night. The Cordillera Central páramo ecoregion

585-415: The Andes becomes the water supply for Andean settlements in lower altitudes. Páramos are divided into separate zones based on elevation and vegetative structure, with the three main types of páramo vegetation unequally distributed throughout different zones. As of 2021, more than 3,000 plant species have been discovered in the páramo. Superpáramo is at the highest elevation and is usually considered to be

624-496: The Andes", is known for its wide wingspan, but is no longer frequently seen. The most numerous bird families in the páramo include eagles , hummingbirds , ovenbirds , thraupid "finches" , and tyrant flycatchers . Some hummingbirds tolerate the cold climate by going into "a kind of nightly hibernation." Hummingbirds, bees and flies are all important pollinators in the páramo, while birds and smaller mammals such as rabbits and guinea pigs are important seed dispersers . Many of

663-573: The Cordillera Central páramo, Santa Marta páramo , Cordillera de Merida páramo and Northern Andean páramo terrestrial ecoregions. The plants and animals are adapted to the cold, dry conditions of the high peaks. There is a high level of local endemism, particularly on the more isolated peaks. Part of the Cordillera Central páramo has been identified as a hotspot, a threatened area with a high level of endemism. Other hotspots in Peru include

702-428: The dominant species, grass páramos can also contain tall- and short-grass communities, including herbaceous and woody vegetation. Due to its easier access and high levels of grass, this zone is more impacted by humans and suffers from both burning and grazing activities. Subpáramo is the lowest and most diverse zone. At 3,000–3,500 m (9,800–11,500 ft), it is a shrub-dominated zone that combines aspects of both

741-456: The ecoregion is relatively intact. The Cordillera Central páramo is found in the upper regions of the Andes in northern Peru and southern Ecuador. The ecoregion has an area of 1,217,294 hectares (3,008,000 acres). The páramo covers ridges and mountains in the high basins of the Piura and Cajamarca regions of Peru and in the south of Ecuador. The northern part of the ecoregion is surrounded by

780-456: The genera Dismorphia , Pagyris and Veladyris . Endangered amphibians include Atelopus peruensis , Hyloxalus elachyhistus , Lynchius parkeri , Pristimantis simonsii , Telmatobius brevipes , Telmatobius degener and Telmatobius thompsoni . The World Wildlife Fund gives the ecoregion the status "Relatively Stable/Intact". The ecoregion has been used by humans for many years, with many settlements and highways crossing

819-436: The grass páramo above and the forest below. Along with shrubs, this zone also contains small, scattered trees which gradually transition into the grasses and herbs of the grass páramo above. Plant communities in this vegetation zone are also known to include thickets that are mainly composed of shrubby or woody vegetation, including species from the genera Ilex , Ageratina , and Baccharis . Fragmented forests can appear in

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858-403: The highest levels of solar radiation and night frost. For this reason, vegetation in the superpáramo must be highly resistant to such severe fluctuations in weather. Air temperatures are low—cold at night and cool during the day—with daily oscillations greater than the oscillations of monthly averages. Due to its localization on high mountains, this area is the least disturbed by humans and contains

897-490: The larger mammals of the páramo are rare due to hunting. Humans have inhabited the páramo of the Andes for approximately the past 15,000 years. Deforestation has been extensive and in some cases, like the northern Andes, 90-95% of forests have been cleared. Other sites in Venezuela and Colombia show evidence that humans settled there at least 800 years ago and used the land for agriculture and hunting. When Europeans came to

936-493: The most endemic species of all the zones. Flora includes Azorella pedunculata of the family Apiaceae and species from the families Asteraceae , Fabaceae , and Ericaceae . The most broadly described zone is the grass páramo . Grass páramos cover large areas of mountain ranges, while others are limited to small areas on slopes and summits of very high mountains. The term páramo is sometimes used to refer to this specific type. It has continuous vegetation and plant cover with

975-607: The plateau, but is still fairly intact, A recent expansion of the human population and increase in agriculture is destroying the habitat around settlements. Overgrazing by livestock is causing erosion of the soil. Mining waste sometimes contaminates the rivers. Protected areas include the Podocarpus National Park . Andisols Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include

1014-509: The páramo provides shelter and habitat for a variety of mammals, birds, insects, amphibians, and reptiles. Some animals commonly found in páramo ecosystems include the Culpeo (sometimes called the páramo wolf), the white-tailed deer , and the spectacled bear ( Tremarctos ornatus ) which occasionally forages in the high páramo for its favored food, Puya bromeliads. Invertebrates such as grasshoppers, cockroaches, beetles, and flies are found in

1053-736: The páramos has resulted in high levels of endemism among the diverse plant species. There are 300 genera of spermatophytes with 1,000–1,500 species, of which about 60% are endemic. Notable species of flora include Cinchona officinalis and Schmardaea microphylla . The fauna of the plateau include species that originated from the Amazon basin , from the tropical Andes and from the northern desert areas. Mammals include mountain tapir ( Tapirus pinchaque ), little red brocket ( Mazama rufina ), spectacled bear ( Tremarctos ornatus ), northern pudú ( Pudu mephistophiles ) and small-eared shrews (genus Cryptotis ). The mountain tapir ( Tapirus pinchaque )

1092-547: The páramos. In burned and disturbed sites that were studied in the Andes the pH and phosphorus concentration in the soil are higher than in non-burned sites. Climate change is becoming an increasingly pressing issue for páramo ecosystems. Growing populations in Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador have forced settlements in higher elevations covering more páramo. Recent developments such as construction of aqueducts, drainage systems, and roads, mining, and afforestation have been

1131-696: The regions between 11°N and 8°S latitudes, these ecosystems are mainly in the northwest corner of South America, in Colombia , Ecuador , Peru , and Venezuela . In Venezuela, the páramo occurs in the Cordillera de Mérida . Páramo ecosystems are also found in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia, and in the regions of Huehuetenango and El Quiché of Guatemala in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes . The Cordillera de Talamanca of Costa Rica and

1170-470: The south Ecuadorian páramo are characterized broadly into Andisols , Inceptisols , Histosols , Entisols , and Mollisols . Recently, there has been an increase in Andisol soils, largely due to more volcanic activity. These soils have a very high water retention rate, which contributes to the rise in cultivation and differential land use. This water supply stored in the soil in the higher elevation páramo in

1209-435: The subpáramo due to microclimatic or edaphic conditions, yet the more abrupt changes are generally due to anthropogenic disruption such as cutting, burning, and grazing activities. Because of these high levels of disruption, it is believed that subpáramos are made up of largely secondary-growth communities. The high levels of disruption also make this zone particularly difficult to define, as humans typically extend and expand

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1248-514: The subpáramo. Amphibians have been well documented in páramo ecosystems, including salamanders such as Bolitoglossa species and frogs such as Pristimantis and Atelopus species. Reptiles include lizards of the genera Stenocercus , Phenacosaurus , and Proctoporus . Sixty-nine species of birds are considered to be "total users" of páramo habitats, with "41 species making it their primary habitat and 16 as indicator species ". The Andean condor ( Vultur gryphus ), also called "king of

1287-401: The transition zone between the higher, permanent snow region and the lower grass páramo zone. The superpáramo zone is generally narrow and exists atop loose stones and sandy soils at about 4,500–4,800 m (14,800–15,700 ft). It has the lowest air temperature, precipitation level, soil water-holding capacity, and nutrient content of all the zones. Being the highest in elevation, it also has

1326-476: The water supply for cities such as Quito, Ecuador and Bogotá, Colombia. On 8 February 2016, the Constitutional Court of Colombia banned all mining operations in the paramos, prioritising the protection of the environment, and terminating 347 mining licenses that had operational rights in the ecosystem. The 2023 short documentary, "Sun and Thunder" about La Nasa indigenous activist Nora Taquines,

1365-748: The westernmost part of Panama has páramo. In northern Ecuador, the Guandera Biological Station is a fairly undisturbed páramo ecosystem. The majority of the páramo ecosystems occur in the Colombian Andes . The Sumapaz Páramo , south of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes (about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Bogotá), is the largest páramo in

1404-714: The world. This region was declared a National Park of Colombia in 1977 because of its importance as a biodiversity hotspot and main source of water for the most densely populated area of the country, the Bogotá Savannah. The 5.7-square-kilometre (1,405-acre) Páramo Wildlife Refuge Park in the San José Province of Costa Rica "protects tropical forest areas in the high elevations of the Talamanca Mountains ". Cotopaxi National Park contains 329.9 square kilometres (81,524 acres) of protected land in

1443-419: The year. The Andes also play a key role in the climate of these regions as they cause an orographic uplift in which moist air rises. This creates continuous moisture via rain, clouds, and fog, with many of them receiving over 2,000 mm (79 in) of rain annually. The páramos of the northernmost Andes of Venezuela, northern Colombia, and Costa Rica experience a different climate due to the dry season, which

1482-727: The zone for their own purposes, sometimes over hundreds or thousands of years. This has altered forest lines, often lowering them by several hundred meters, which has also affected the altitudinal zonation for many animals. Lichens are widely distributed in all types of paramos, however different growth forms may be favoured by environmental conditions. For example, extreme conditions associated with rocky substrates and high elevations favour crustose lichens, while foliose and fruticose lichens are associated with less extreme conditions and mid altitudes. The atmospheric factors such as humidity and temperature positively favour taller lichens, due to an increase in locally available water. The vegetation of

1521-531: Was filmed in the páramo region. The feature film, "A Vanishing Fog" was filmed in the páramo. Cordillera Central p%C3%A1ramo The Cordillera Central páramo (NT1004) is an ecoregion containing páramo (high moorland) vegetation above the treeline in the Andes mountain range of northern Peru and southern Ecuador. Due to its isolation there are high levels of endemism. Despite many human settlements and some destruction of habitat by agriculture and mining,

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