Altitudinal zones in mountains

In short: The higher you go in the mountains, the cooler it gets, and plant life and land use change in clearly recognisable zones. From valley to summit you can pass through landscapes within a few kilometres that are otherwise far apart.

In more detail: Air temperature falls on average by about 0.6 degrees Celsius per 100 metres of altitude. Exactly where a zone begins depends on latitude, slope direction, rainfall and wind.

In detail

• Colline zone: In the lower parts of the Alps deciduous forests grow, and this is where villages, meadows, fields and in some places vineyards are found.
• Montane zone: Further up, mixed forests of beech, fir and spruce dominate the scenery.
• Subalpine zone: Conifers such as spruce, larch and Swiss stone pine dominate; higher up, the trees become smaller and sparser.
• Tree line: Above this line closed forests can no longer grow; in the Alps it lies roughly between 1,800 and 2,400 metres depending on the region.
• Alpine zone: Here there are dwarf shrubs, grasses and colourful alpine flowers; the summer pastures are traditionally used for grazing livestock.
• Nival zone: At the very top rock, snow and ice prevail, and only a few lichens and mosses survive.
• Sunny and shady sides: On sunny south-facing slopes, forests and settlements usually reach higher than on shady north-facing slopes.
• Tropical high mountains: In the Andes or on Kilimanjaro all zones lie considerably higher because it is warmer at the foot of the mountains.
• Climate change: As temperatures rise, plants and animals move uphill and glaciers retreat (gebirge-und-berge-der-erde, gletscher-und-eiszeiten, klimazonen-der-erde).