Montane - Montane Forests

Montane Forests

Montane forests occur between the submontane zone and the subalpine zone. The exact elevations at which one habitat changes to another vary across the globe, particularly by latitude. The upper limit of montane forests is often marked by a change to hardier species, which occur in less dense stands. The transition to open forest is known as the timberline. For example, in the Sierra Nevada of California, the montane forest has dense stands of lodgepole pine and red fir, while the Sierra Nevada subalpine zone contains sparse stands of whitebark pine.

The upper limit of the montane forest often tracks the elevation of the treeline itself. There may also be a "lower timberline", which separates the montane zone from drier steppe or desert region. In tropical regions of Southeast Asia the tree line may be above 4,000 m (13,000 ft), whereas in Scotland it may be as low as 450 m (1,480 ft).

The climate of montane forests is colder than lowland climate at the same latitude, so the montane forests often have species typical of higher-latitude lowland forests. Montane forests differ from lowland forests in the same area. Humans can disturb montane forests through forestry and agriculture. On isolated mountains, montane forests surrounded by treeless dry regions are typical "sky island" ecosystems.

One example of a montane forest is a cloud forest, which gains its moisture from clouds and fog. Cloud forests are typically tropical or subtropical evergreen forests. They often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and vegetation, in which case they are also referred to as mossy forests. Mossy forests usually develop on the saddles of mountains, where moisture introduced by settling clouds is more effectively retained.

Montane forests often contain tree indicator species: common species whose range boundaries matches the boundaries of the zone. These indicator species include:

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• Lodgepole pine
• Red fir
• Pacific silver fir
• Grand fir