Altitude of the forest upper limit in the Mexican Neovolcanic Axis, a climate reference for high-mountain environment in Mexico
The upper limit of continuous and discontinuous forest in mountains higher than 4000 meters above sea level in Mexico was identified. This study was based on the normalized difference vegetation index and by means of principal component analysis. For the first case, it was found that in each slope t...
| Published in: | Complutum |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | Spanish |
| Published: |
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://estudiosgeograficos.revistas.csic.es/index.php/estudiosgeograficos/article/view/1047 https://doi.org/10.3989/estgeogr.202075.075 |
| Summary: | The upper limit of continuous and discontinuous forest in mountains higher than 4000 meters above sea level in Mexico was identified. This study was based on the normalized difference vegetation index and by means of principal component analysis. For the first case, it was found that in each slope the forest limit reaches a different altitude; however, on average the continuous forest (timberline) ends at 4019 and the discontinuous forest (treeline) at 4072 masl. On the other hand, the statistical analysis made it possible to determine that precipitation, soil type and the rate of solar radiation at the surface level are the main factors that govern its altitude. Finally, it was found that the temperature regime found on this limit approximates the standard values of the intertropical zone. Se identificó el límite superior de bosque continuo y discontinuo en las montañas superiores a 4000 metros sobre el nivel del mar en México. El estudio se basó en el índice de vegetación de diferencia normalizada y mediante el análisis de componentes principales. Para el primer caso, se encontró que en cada vertiente el límite de bosque alcanza una altitud distinta; sin embargo, en promedio el bosque continuo culmina a 4019 y el discontinuo a 4072 msnm. Por su parte, el análisis estadístico permitió determinar que la precipitación, el tipo de suelo y la tasa de radiación solar a nivel de superficie son los principales factores que rigen su altitud. Finalmente se halló que el régimen de temperatura encontrado en esta frontera se aproxima a los valores estándares de la zona intertropical. |
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