Ecosystems are formed by a physical environment, or also called a biotope, in which living organisms that form a biotic community (biocenosis) are related. There are many countries with a great diversity of ecosystems and life in them. For example, Peru is a megadiverse country, since it has a great variety of ecosystems that are distributed throughout its national territory.
In this interesting article by Ecologist Verde we will talk about all Peruvian ecosystems and they will be classified depending on whether they belong to terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems. So, read on and discover what are the ecosystems of Peru and their characteristics.
List of ecosystems of Peru
Peru has 39 ecosystems; 12 of them belong to the tropical forest, 4 to the Yunga Region, another 12 are identified in the Andean Region, 9 in the coastal zone and 2 in the aquatic ecosystems.
- Rain forest: herbaceous-shrubby swamp, humid savanna with palm trees (Pampa del Heath), palm swamp, floodplain blackwater alluvial forest, floodplain whitewater alluvial forest, high or non-floodable terrace forest, varillal, low hill forest, forest of high hill, divisor sierra hill forest, pacal and eastern seasonally dry forest. Here you can know the Flora and fauna of the Peruvian Jungle.
- Yunga Region: yunga basimontan forest, yunga montane forest, yunga altimontan (pluvial) forest and montane scrub.
- Andean region: páramo, dry puna pajonal, humid puna pajonal, bofedal, periglacial and glacial zone, jalca, dry puna scrub, high Andean relict forest (Queñoal and others), western slope montane relict forest, meso-Andean relict forest, inter-Andean seasonally dry forest (Marañón, Mantaro, Pampas and Apurímac) and Andean scrub. To learn more about this area of Peru, we recommend this other article about the Andean Region: characteristics, flora and fauna.
- Coast: Pacific tropical forest (Tumbes), mangrove, seasonally dry hill and mountain forest, coastal hill, xeric scrub, seasonally dry plain forest, seasonally dry riparian forest (Algarrobal), coastal desert and coastal wetland. In this other post you can discover 25 animals from the Peruvian coast.
- Aquatic: rivers and lakes and lagoons.
Terrestrial ecosystem of Peru
Next, some of the ecosystems that we have mentioned in the previous list will be described in greater detail, which are classified within the terrestrial ecosystems of Peru:
Non-floodable terrace forest
Ecosystem with a flat relief or it can present some very slight undulations, with the way it moves away from the river, about 20 meters high. It has a dense understory, and its trees have a canopy that can reach up to 25 meters. It is the trees that predominate, although you can also find some palm trees.
Pacal
It is an Amazonian ecosystem characteristic of southern Peru. It is found occupying large areas, on terraces and hills, with a very abundant bale coverage. The species that dominate this ecosystem are: Guadua weberbaueri, G. sarcocarpa and G. angustifolia. In the barely the understory develops and presents some arboreal species.
Paramo
It is an Andean ecosystem located in northern Peru, with shrub and herbaceous vegetation located in areas characterized by seasonal rains and lighter rains, which occur throughout the year. In addition, it is an area where the daily temperature fluctuates and its soils are hydromorphic, that is, with abundant water. Endemic species can be found in this ecosystem, and it has a great wealth of flora species.
In this other post you can learn more about the Páramo: characteristics, flora and fauna.
Seasonally dry plain forest
Homogeneous, extensive and deciduous sub-arid ecosystem that is occupied by trees such as the Prosopis pallida and P.limensis, or better known for algarrobo. It is a forest that has few species and has a height of 5-8 meters with wild shrubs and herbs.
Aquatic ecosystems of Peru
Within the aquatic ecosystems of Peru we also find a great variety. Of all those that we have named previously, some will be shown in more detail:
Lake and lagoon
The two main lakes found in Peru are Lake Junín at 4,000 meters above sea level (meters above sea level) and Lake Titicaca at 3,800 meters above sea level, they are considered high Andean wetlands. These bodies of water are large and deep and can be brackish, salty or fresh water. On the other hand, the lagoons are shallower, have different capacities to store water and their regime can be both permanent and temporary. Here you can learn more Differences between lake and lagoon.
Rivers
They are natural streams of water that vary in size and depth, they can be located in different reliefs, from those with steep slopes to flat reliefs. The rivers in Peru occupy an area of approximately 1.14% of the entire national territory.
Mangroves
Hydromorphic ecosystem, located on estuaries of intertidal brackish water areas. It is characterized as a dense or semi-dense forest since it reaches up to 10 meters in height, its understory is highly developed with abundant shrubs and herbaceous plants and is generally made up of mangroves. Other vegetations found in these ecosystems are the Rhizophora mangle, Rhizophora harrisoni, Avicenia germinans and Conocarpus erecta. In this other article we talk more about what is a mangrove and its characteristics.
Herbaceous-shrubby swamp
It is an ecosystem with abundant water, that is to say, hydromorphic in which herbaceous plants such as grasses and sedges predominate and it is located in poorly drained land, which is why it sometimes faces floods. Their soils are organic and peat bogs develop on them. In them we see abundant wild grasses with a height of up to 2 meters and some bushes of about 4 to 5 meters.
If you liked knowing all this about the ecosystems of Peru, you may want to expand the information on the natural wealth of this country with these other Green Ecologist articles:
- Natural heritage of Peru.
- The ecoregions of Peru and their characteristics.
- Biodiversity of Peru: characteristics and importance.
If you want to read more articles similar to What are the ecosystems of Peru, we recommend that you enter our Ecosystems category.
