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High Monte
The High Monte is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in Argentina. Geography The High Monte is located on the eastern slopes of the Andes, extending from the vicinity of Salta (24º S) south to Mendoza (32º S). It is a landscape of mountains and closed basins which lie between the Sierras Pampeanas on the east and the main spine of the Andes to the west. The southern portion of the High Monte is drained by the Desaguadero River. The lower limit of soil cryoturbation along the eastern slope of Andes marks the upper boundary of the High Monte, extending up to 3000 meters at the northern end of the ecoregion, and between 1500 and 1700 meters elevation in Mendoza Province further south. The eastern transitions to the Chaco and Low Monte are more gradual.Ojeda, Ricardo A., Solana Tabeni, and Valeria Corbalán (2011). "Mammals of the Monte Desert: from regional to local assemblages". ''Journal of Mammalogy'', 92(6):1236–1244, 2011.Abraham, Elena & Del Valle, Héctor & Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Cardones National Park
The Los Cardones National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Los Cardones) is a national park of Argentina, located in the center-west of the provinces of Argentina, province of Salta Province, Salta, within the San Carlos and Cachi Departments, in the Argentine Northwest. Location The park protects an area of the High Monte ecoregion. The park has an area of 650 square kilometres, with hills and ravines at the height levels between 2,700 m and 5,000 m. It gets its name from the prevalence of bush formations of Echinopsis terscheckii, cardon grande cactus. It features fossil remains of extinct animals, as well as dinosaur tracks. The protected area was created in 1996, when the National Parks Administration acquired the land from private owners. Climate Most of the park has an arid climate that is characterized by a large thermal amplitude (large difference between day and night temperatures). The park receives an average rainfall of ; most of it falling between November to March. Snowf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryoturbation
In gelisols (permafrost soils), cryoturbation (frost churning) refers to the mixing of materials from various horizons of the soil down to the bedrock due to freezing and thawing. Cryoturbation occurs to varying degrees in most gelisols. The cause of cryoturbation lies in the way in which the repeated freezing of the soil during autumn causes the formation of ice wedges at the most easily erodible parts of the parent rock. If the parent rock is hard, this can cause quite deep erosion of the rock over many years. As this process continues, during the summer when an active layer forms in the soil this eroded material can easily move both from the soil surface downward and from the permafrost table upward. As this process occurs, the upper soil material gradually dries out (because the soil moisture moves from the warm surface layer to the colder layer at the top of the permafrost) so that it forms a granular structure with many very distinctive crystalline shapes (such as ice le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cougar
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. It is an adaptable, generalist species, occurring in most American habitat types. This wide range has brought it many common names, including puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther (for the Florida sub-population). It is the second-largest cat in the New World, after the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Secretive and largely solitary by nature, the cougar is properly considered both nocturnal and crepuscular, although daytime sightings do occur. Despite its size, the cougar is more closely related to smaller felines, including the domestic cat (''Felis catus'') than to any species of the subfamily Pantherinae. The cougar is an ambush predator that pursues a wide variety of prey. Primary food sources are ungulates, particularly deer, but it a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guanaco
The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The guanaco gets its name from the Quechua word ''huanaco'' (modern spelling ''wanaku''). Young guanacos are called ''chulengos''. Characteristics Guanacos stand between at the shoulder, body length of , and weigh . Their color varies very little (unlike the domestic llama), ranging from a light brown to dark cinnamon and shading to white underneath. Guanacos have grey faces and small, straight ears. The lifespan of a guanaco can be as long as 28 years. Guanacos are one of the largest terrestrial mammals native to South America today.San Diego Zoo's Animal Bytes Other terrestrial mamm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example ''Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. ''Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tragia Geraniifolia
''Tragia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It is widespread across North and South America, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian Subcontinent, northern Australia, and to various islands in the Caribbean and in the Indian Ocean. Plants in this genus are sometimes known as noseburns. Of the more than 150 species in the genus, around 25 are mentioned as medicinal, with strong antibacterial, antifungal and antiproliferative activity. These species are used in Siddha medicine, which is practiced by the Tamil people, and is used in curing eczema, fevers, wheezing, and diabetes. ;Species ;formerly included moved to other genera ''(Acalypha Adenophaedra Alchornea Bia Cleidion Cnesmone Dalechampia Megistostigma Micrococca Microstachys Omphalea Pachystylidium Platygyna Plukenetia Sclerocroton Shirakiopsis Tragiella Zuckertia ''Zuckertia'' is a genus of plant of the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1858. It contains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bulnesia Schickendantzii
''Bulnesia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. The wood of some – particularly '' B. arborea'' and '' B. sarmientoi'' – is traded as verawood (colloquially "vera") or ''"lignum vitae"''. They are close relatives of the "true" ''lignum vitae'' trees of genus ''Guaiacum''. Species * '' Bulnesia arborea'' – Maracaibo ''lignum vitae''; 'True' Verawood * ''Bulnesia bonariensis'' Griseb. * ''Bulnesia carrapo'' Killip & Dugand * '' Bulnesia chilensis'' Gay * '' Bulnesia foliosa'' Griseb. * '' Bulnesia loraniensis'' Griseb. * '' Bulnesia macrocarpa'' Phil. * '' Bulnesia rivas-martinezii'' G.Navarro * ''Bulnesia retama'' (Gillies ex Hook. & Arn.) Griseb * ''Bulnesia sarmientoi ''Bulnesia sarmientoi'' (recently reclassified as ''Gonopterodendron sarmientoi'') is a tree that inhabits a part of the Gran Chaco area in South America, around the Argentina-Bolivia-Paraguay border. Its wood is often traded as "Paraguay ''lig ...'' & ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prosopis Nigra
''Prosopis nigra'' (synonym ''Prosopis algarrobilla'') is a South American leguminous tree species that inhabits the Gran Chaco ecoregion (in particular, the transition zone between the Wet Chaco and the Southern Chaco), in Argentina and Paraguay. It is known as ''algarrobo negro'' in Spanish, which means "black carob tree" (the Spanish settlers gave it that name, as they did with many other species of genus ''Prosopis'', because of its similarity to the European carob tree). It is also variously called ''algarrobo dulce'', ''algarrobo morado'' and ''algarrobo amarillo'' ("sweet", "purple" and "yellow" carob tree, respectively). The tree blossoms in September and October, and gives fruit from November to March. It grows together with the ''vinalillo'' tree (''Prosopis vinalillo'') and under the tops of the palm tree ''Copernicia alba''. Like the other species of this genus, it tolerates arid climate, but can also survive in flooded ground for a long time. The heartwood is dark br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prosopis Alba
''Prosopis alba'' is a South American tree species that grows in central Argentina, the Gran Chaco ecoregion, and part of the Argentine Mesopotamia, as well as Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru. It is known as ''algarrobo blanco'' ('white carob tree') in Spanish. Spanish settlers gave it that name because of its similarity to the European carob tree (''Ceratonia siliqua''). Other common names come from Guaraní, including ''ibopé'' and ''igopé''. ''Prosopis alba'' is a medium-sized tree, measuring between , in height and in diameter, though such tall specimens occur very rarely at present. The trunk is short and the treetop is globular, sometimes reaching in diameter. The bark is thin, brown-grayish in colour, with streaks, and it has tanning properties. The tree is employed for ornamental and utilitary roadside planting and windbreaks. Its timber, which is rather dense (relative density = 0.76) and difficult to work, is used for doors and floors, for furniture, for paving blocks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prosopis
''Prosopis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in arid soil and are resistant to drought, on occasion developing extremely deep root systems. Their wood is usually hard, dense and durable. Their fruits are pods and may contain large amounts of sugar. The generic name means " burdock" in late Latin and originated in the Greek language. Selected species *Mesquites (southern United States, Mexico) ** '' Prosopis glandulosa'' Torr. – honey mesquite; ''Haas'' ( Cmiique Iitom) ** '' Prosopis laevigata'' (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) M.C.Johnst. – smooth mesquite ** ''Prosopis pubescens'' Benth. – screwbean mesquite ** '' Prosopis reptans'' Benth. – tornillo ** '' Prosopis velutina'' Wooton – velvet mesquite *"Algarrobos", bayahondas etc. (Neotropics, particularly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larrea
''Larrea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Bishop Juan Antonio Hernández Pérez de Larrea, a patron of science."Larrea" is itself a Basque surname, where ''larrea'' stands for a village in Álava (Spain), ultimatelmeaning 'meadow'(plus article -a). South American members of this genus are known as ''jarillas'' and can produce fertile interspecific hybrids. One of the more notable species is the creosote bush ('' L. tridentata'') of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The King Clone ring in the Mojave Desert is a creosote bush clonal colony estimated to be about 11,700 years old. Species *'' Larrea ameghinoi'' *'' Larrea cuneifolia'' *'' Larrea divaricata'' Cav. *'' Larrea nitida'' *''Larrea tridentata ''Larrea tridentata'', called creosote bush and greasewood as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and ''go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arid Diagonal
upright=2.5, Map showing Köppens climate classification for South America. The arid diagonal can be seen in the form of the almost contiguous zone of BWh and BWk climate running from Ecuador to Southern Patagonia. The Arid Diagonal ( es, link=no, diagonal árida/arreica) is a contiguous zone of arid and semi-arid climate that traverses South America from coastal Peru in the Northwest to Argentine Patagonia in Southeast including large swathes of Bolivia and Chile. The Arid Diagonal encompasses a number of deserts, for example: Sechura, Atacama, Monte and the Patagonian Desert. The Arid Diagonal acts to isolate the temperate and subtropical forests of Chile and southern Argentina from other forests of South America. Together with the Quaternary glaciations in the Southern Andes, the diagonal has controlled the distribution of vegetation throughout Chile and Argentina. The concept of a South American Arid Diagonal was first coined by French geographer Emmanuel de Martonne in h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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