edited by Philip W. Rundel, Alan P. Smith, F.C. Meinzer.
New York, NY, USA :
Cambridge University Press,
1994.
xiv, 376 pages :
illustrations ;
24 cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Introduction to tropical alpine vegetation / A.P. Smith -- 2. Tropical alpine climates / P.W. Rundel -- 3. Paramo microclimate and leaf thermal balance of Andean giant rosette plants / F.C. Meinzer, G. Goldstein and F. Rada -- 4. Comparative water relations of tropical alpine plants / F.C. Meinzer, G. Goldstein and P.W. Rundel -- 5. Cold tolerance in tropical alpine plants / E. Beck -- 6. Anatomy of tropical alpine plants / S. Carlquist -- 7. Environmental biology of a tropical treeline species, Polylepis sericea / G. Goldstein, F.C. Meinzer and F. Rada -- 8. Morphological and physiological radiation in paramo Draba / W.A. Pfitsch -- 9. Sediment-based carbon nutrition in tropical alpine Isoetes / J.E. Keeley, D.A. DeMason, R. Gonzalez and K.R. Markham -- 10. Functional significance of inflorescence pubescence in tropical alpine species of Puya / G.A. Miller -- 11. Turnover and conservation of nutrients in the pachycaul Senecio keniodendron / E. Beck.
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Plants growing in tropical alpine environments (at altitudes above the closed canopy forest and below the limit of plant life) have evolved distinct forms to cope with a hostile environment characterized by cold, drought and fire. Unlike temperate alpine environments, where there are distinct seasons of favorable and unfavorable conditions for growth, tropical alpine habitats present summer conditions every day and winter conditions every night. Using examples from all over the tropics, this fascinating account reviews for the first time the unique form and functional relationships of tropical alpine plants, examining both their physiological ecology and their population biology. It will appeal to anyone interested in tropical vegetation and plant physiological adaptations to hostile environments, as well as to researchers in biogeography and ecology.