subalpine

The term subalpine refers to the biotic zone immediately below tree line around the world. Species that occur in this zone depend on the location of the zone on the Earth, for example, Snow Gum in Australia, or Subalpine Larch, Mountain Hemlock and Subalpine Fir in western North America.

Trees in the subalpine zone often become krummholz, that is, crooked wood, stunted and twisted in form. At treeline, tree seedlings may germinate on the lee side of rocks and grow only as high as the rock provides wind protection. Further growth is more horizontal than vertical, and additional rooting may occur where branches contact the soil. The resulting low growth of dense trees is called krummholz. Snow cover may protect krummholz trees during the winter, but branches higher than wind-shelters or snow cover are usually destroyed. Well-established krummholz trees may be several hundred to a thousand years old.^[1]

See also

Subalpine species

Subalpine Fir in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, United States

• Bristlecone pine
• Craspedia
• Dactylorhiza viridis
• Dracophyllum
• Erysimum baeticum
• Foxtail pine
• Limber pine
• Mountain Hemlock
• Mountain Hemlock
• Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir
• Subalpine Fir
• Subalpine Larch
• Subalpine Fleabane
• Subalpine Larch
• Subalpine warbler
• Vipera dinniki
• Whitebark pine
• White-tailed ptarmigan

Examples of subalpine zones

• Australian Alps montane grasslands
• Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
• Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
• Hengduan Mountains subalpine conifer forests
• Montane grasslands and shrublands
• Sierra Nevada subalpine zone
• Rocky Mountains subalpine zone

Related articles

• Climate of the Alps
• Tree line

References

This ecology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e