What are the ecosystems of Peru

Peru has 39 ecosystems ; 12 of them belong to the tropical forest, 4 to the Yunga Region, another 12 are identified in the Andean Region, 9 in the coastal zone and 2 in the aquatic ecosystems.

• Rainforest: herbaceous-shrub swamp, humid savanna with palm trees (Pampa del Heath), palm swamp, floodplain blackwater alluvial forest, floodplain whitewater alluvial forest, high or non-floodable terrace forest, varillal, low hill forest , high hill forest, divisor sierra hill forest, pacal and eastern seasonally dry forest. Here you can know the Flora and fauna of the Peruvian Jungle .
• Yunga region: basimontan yunga forest, montane yunga forest, altimontano (pluvial) yunga forest and montane scrub.
• Andean region: páramo, dry puna pajonal, humid puna pajonal, wetland, periglacial and glacial zone, jalca, dry puna scrub, high Andean relict forest (Queñoal and others), western slope montane relict forest, Meso-Andean relict forest, forest seasonally dry inter-Andean (Marañón, Mantaro, Pampas and Apurímac) and Andean scrub . To learn more about this area of ​​Peru, we recommend this other article about the Andean Region: characteristics, flora and fauna .
• Coast: Pacific tropical forest (Tumbes), mangrove, seasonally dry hill and mountain forest, coastal hill, xeric scrub, seasonally dry plain forest, seasonally dry riverine forest (Algarrobal), coastal desert and coastal wetland . In this other post you can discover 25 animals from the Peruvian coast .
• Aquatic: rivers and lakes and lagoons.

Next, some of the ecosystems that we have mentioned in the previous list, which are classified within the terrestrial ecosystems of Peru , will be described in greater detail :

Non-floodable terrace forest

Ecosystem with a flat relief or it may present some very slight undulations, with the way it moves away from the river, about 20 meters high. It has a dense undergrowth, and its trees have a canopy that can reach up to 25 meters. It is the trees that predominate, although some palm trees can also be found.

Pacal

It is an Amazonian ecosystem characteristic of southern Peru. It is found occupying large areas, on terraces and hills, with a very abundant bale coverage. The species that dominate this ecosystem are: Guadua weberbaueri, G. sarcocarpa and G. angustifolia. In the barely the understory develops and presents some arboreal species.

Paramo

It is an Andean ecosystem located in northern Peru, with shrub and herbaceous vegetation located in areas characterized by seasonal rains and lighter rains, which occur throughout the year. In addition, it is an area where the daily temperature fluctuates and its soils are hydromorphic, that is, with abundant water. Endemic species can be found in this ecosystem, and it has a great wealth of flora species.

In this other post you can learn more about the Páramo: characteristics, flora and fauna .

Seasonally dry plain forest

Homogeneous, extensive and deciduous sub-arid ecosystem that is occupied by trees such as Prosopis pallida and P.limensis, or better known by carob . It is a forest that has few species and is 5-8 meters high with shrubs and wild herbs.

Within the aquatic ecosystems of Peru we also find a great variety. Of all those that we have named previously, some will be shown in more detail:

Lake and lagoon

The two main lakes found in Peru are Lake Junín at 4,000 masl (meters above sea level) and Lake Titicaca at 3,800 masl, they are considered high Andean wetlands. These bodies of water are large and deep and can be brackish, salt or fresh water. On the other hand, the lagoons are shallower, have different capacities to store water and their regime can be both permanent and temporary. Here you can learn more Differences between lake and lagoon .

Rivers

They are natural streams of water that vary in size and depth, they can be located in different reliefs, from those with steep slopes to flat reliefs. The rivers in Peru occupy an area of ​​approximately 1.14% of the entire national territory.

Mangroves

Hydromorphic ecosystem, located on brackish water intertidal estuaries. It is characterized as a dense or semi-dense forest since it reaches up to 10 meters in height, its understory is highly developed with abundant shrubs and herbaceous plants and is generally made up of mangroves. Other vegetations found in these ecosystems are Rhizophora mangle, Rhizophora harrisoni, Avicenia germinans and Conocarpus erecta. In this other article we talk more about what is a mangrove and its characteristics .

Herbaceous-shrubby swamp

It is an ecosystem with abundant water, that is to say, hydromorphic in which herbaceous plants such as grasses and sedges predominate and it is located in lands with poor drainage, for which reason they sometimes face floods. Their soils are organic and peat bogs develop on them. In them we see abundant wild herbs with a height of up to 2 meters and some bushes of about 4 to 5 meters.

If you liked knowing all this about the ecosystems of Peru , you may want to expand the information about the natural wealth of this country with these other AgroCorrn articles:

• Natural heritage of Peru .
• The ecoregions of Peru and their characteristics .
• Biodiversity of Peru: characteristics and importance .

If you want to read more articles similar to What are the ecosystems of Peru , we recommend that you enter our Ecosystems category .