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Ecuador's ecosystems are greatly influenced by
altitude and we start with the highest
mountain region,
called locally
Paramo.
This ecosystem is unique to the Andes with its distinct
flora and fauna, many of which are not
found in any other high alpine regions of the
world. It begins at around
3600m and reaches up to the glaciers at
5000m. Although that
high it is still home to an amazing biodiversity of some 2000
plants and animals.
Moving lower we enter
into the Andean Valleys, which once were heavily forested but underwent profound changes at
the hands of humans and introduced species of plants and animals dominate nowadays,
having replaced the native ones. This lower
mountain region, ranging from
3600m to the bottom of the valleys, which separate the two
Andes ranging from 3000m to
around 2000m is also a major
human settlement area with
half of the country's people
living there.
On the outside flanks of the Andes we encounter the
Cloudforests,
the dense montane rainforests you
encounter when leaving the Andean valleys
and moving down either west
to the coastal plains or east to the
Amazon basin. This region
of steep terrain
is especially rich in flowering plants like orchids and bromeliads and
has an altitudinal range of between 3000m and 1000m.
Moving east we enter the Amazon basin which is covered by
extensive
Tropical Rainforests.
Huge trees, laden with epiphytes and
vines, are home to
many
animals. In those tropical woodlands,
more species of animals and plants are found than in any other
ecosystem of the world. It becomes however more and more under pressure
as oli exploration and population increases lead to deforestation. A
smaller area of rainforests
are also encountered in the northwestern region of the
coastal plains in the province of
Esmeraldas, where the forest now becomes cut in an alarming
rate.
Moving south on the coastal plains we enter into drier
regions, which are marked by two distinct
seasons, a dry one half of the year and a very wet one, the other
half due to the influences of cold and warm ocean currents.
Once that large region
was covered by Dry Tropical Forests but
large human settlements and
intensive
agriculture
with monocultural plantations
finished almost entirely with this unique forest.
Right along on the Pacific coast and some small areas of Galapagos are
situated the Mangroves
composed mainly of
trees, which grow right near the ocean, where salt water meets sweet
water and how they support a unique fauna and flora.
This is another of the country's ecological regions which became in the
last decade under assault by human activities. Industrial Shrimp farms
destroy the trees to establish the pools, where these crustaceans are
raised.
Leaving
the mainland behind we finally reach the
Galapagos Islands.
These volcanic islands, one thousand kilometers straight west
of mainland Ecuador developed their own unique fauna and flora with
a high rate of endemic species. Charles
Darwin developed his revolutionary idea of evolution while visiting the
islands centuries ago.
Another important habitat for animals are the
Marine Waters. A rich marine underwater world
is found along the Pacific coast and in Galapagos
due to the presence of
two major ocean currents, the cold Humboldt stream and the
warmer El Niño, which support their own
species of fish and other water dwelling animals. |
