The New Guinea
Highlands, also known as the Central Range
or Central Cordillera, are a
chain of mountain ranges and intermountain valleys on the island of New Guinea
which run generally east-west the length of the island.
Notable ranges include the Owen Stanley Range in the
southeast, whose highest peak is Mount Victoria at 4,038 meters (13,248 feet); the
Albert Victor Mountains; the Sir Arthur Gordon Range; the Bismarck Range, whose
highest peak is Mount Wilhelm at 4,509 meters (14,793 feet); the Star
Range on the Papua New Guinea–Indonesia border; and the Maoke
Mountains or Snow Range in the west, where perpetual snow was found by H. A.
Lorentz in 1909 at 14,635
ft, and whose highest peaks are Puncak
Jaya (Mt. Carstensz) at 4,884 m (16,023 feet) and Puncak Trikora (Mt. Wilhelmina)
at 4,750 meters
(15,580 feet).
Ecology
The New Guinea Highlands are home to plant and animal
communities distinct from the surrounding lowlands, from tropical montane forests to alpine grasslands. : )
Montane rain forests
The montane rain forests
consist of three broad vegetation zones, distinguished by elevation.
The lower montane forests
extend from 1000 to 1500
meters elevation. They are dominated by broadleaf
evergreen trees, including Castanopsis acuminatissima,
Lithocarpus
spp., elaeocarps, and laurels. Coniferous
Araucarias may form thick stands.
The upper montane forests,
which extend from 1500 to 2500
meters elevation, are dominated by moss-covered Nothofagus
The high mountain forest extends from 2,500 to 3,000 meters
elevation. Conifers (Podocarpus, Dacrycarpus,
Dacrydium,
Papuacedrus,
Araucaria,
and Libocedrus)
and broadleaf trees of the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae)
form a thin canopy, with a prominent understory.
Sub-alpine and alpine shrublands and grasslands
Above 3000
meters elevation, the high mountain forest yields to
sub-alpine shrublands, including tree-fern (Cyathea)
savannas, bogs, grasslands, and shrubby heaths of Rhododendron, Vaccinium,
Coprosma,
Rapanea,
and Saurauia.
The alpine habitat above 4,000 meters consists
of compact rosette and cushion herbs, such as Ranunculus, Potentilla,
Gentiana,
and Epilobium,
grasses (Poa
and Deschampsia),
bryophytes, and lichens.
© http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Guinea_Highlands
[Second Paper] [Introduction] [Sonya Rapoport] [James Green] [Spatial References] [Pandanus tree] [Conclusion] [Bibliography]
Página creada y actualizada
por grupo "mmm".
Para cualquier cambio, sugerencia,etc. contactar con: fores@uv.es
© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente
Forés López
Universitat de València
Press