Why are mountains important for biodiversity and endemism?

Mountains show an enormous variety of habitats because of

• Rapid changes in elevation (← compression of climate zones)

 
• Different slopes, different orientation to the sun, high fragmentation and diverse topography, leading to great variation in temperature, wind, moisture and soil composition

Though species richness generally decreases with altitude, mountains are very species rich when considering the species/area ratio.

Mountain ranges and especially mountain tops are often island biotopes. The residents are incapable of emigrating through the unfavourable habitats (deserts, wetlands, water) surrounding their original locations or topography. Because of their isolation, unique communities are formed and new species can evolve.

A more detailed theory on the importance of mountains for biodiversity can be found in "Habitat diversity". Instead, here we would like to show the habitat and species diversity of alpine lanscapes with a practical example:


On the Alp Flix, a small plateau in the Swiss Alps we can find seven species of small mammals in an area of about 1 ha. The small scale habitat diversity allows each species to find its own niche and live sympatrically in this small area.

1 - Mountains show a high variability of habitats on a small scale

29 August 2011
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