TimberlineVegetationonMountains探究.doc

Timberline Vegetation on Mountains The transition from forest to treeless tundra冻土苔原 on a mountain slope斜坡 is often a dramatic one. Within a vertical垂直 distance of just a few tens of meters, trees disappear as a life-form生物形式 and are replaced by low shrubs灌木, herbs牧草药草, and grasses. This rapid急速的 zone of transition is called the upper timberline树带界限or tree line. In many semiarid半干旱 areas there is also a lower timberline where the forest passes into逐渐变成 steppe干草原 or desert at its lower edge, usually because of a lack of moisture.水分降雨量 在山斜坡上，森林到树木稀少的冻土苔原的转变通常是很戏剧化的。在垂直只有几十米的距离，树木像生物一样消失被低矮的灌木、草药和草代替。这种急速转换的区域叫做上行树带界限或者林木线。在很多半干的地区通常由于缺少水分也会有下行树带界限，森林在更低的边界变成干草原或者沙漠。 The upper timberline, like the snow line, is highest in the tropic热带 and lowest in the polar极地 regions. It ranges from sea level in the polar regions 极地to 4,500 meters in the dry subtropics亚热带 and 3,500 – 4,500 meters in the moist潮湿的 tropics热带. Timberline trees are normally evergreens, suggesting that these have some advantage over deciduous落叶 trees (those that lose their leaves) in the extreme environments of the upper timberline. There are some areas, however, where broadleaf deciduous trees form the timberline. Species of birch桦木, for example, may occur at the timberline in parts of the Himalayas. 上行树带界限，就像降雪线，在热带是最高的而在极地是最低的。它的高度从极地的海岸线到干旱的亚热带4500米和湿热带的3500-4500米。树带界限的树一般来说是常绿的，假设他们相对落叶树（那些没有树叶的）在上行树带界限的极度环境中更具优势。但是在某些地方存活着树带界限的阔叶落叶树。举个例子，桦木的几种可能出现在喜马拉雅的部分树带界限。 At the upper timberline the trees begin to become twisted扭曲 and deformed变形. This is particularly true for trees in the middle and upper latitudes, which tend to attain greater heights on ridges山脊, whereas in the tropics热带 the trees reach their greater heights in the valleys. This is because middle- and upper-latitude纬度 timberlines are strongly influenced by the duration持续时间 and depth of the snow cover. As the snow is deeper and lasts longer in the valleys, trees tend to attain greater heights on the ridges山脊, even though they are