Biomes of the Southern Hemisphere

Description

This is the first comprehensive and critical evaluation of the biome (large-scale, functional biotic communities) patterns in the Southern Hemisphere. Revising the Heinrich Walter's zonobiome system for the Southern Hemisphere appeared as necessary because of the bioclimatic imbalance between the Hemispheres. This revision resulted in formulation of a new zonobiome system, considering the geographic peculiarities of both Hemispheres, hence creating a new, powerful tool of global nature-resource survey and conservation. The system has a potential to attract the interest of the global climate modeling community as the concept of biome (and associated hierarchical system) has a strong functional focus. All zonal biomes of the Southern Hemisphere are featured, and the major challenges we face in understanding their origins, structure, and functioning are discussed. The book contains a wealth of original data resulting from collation of bioclimatic data and vegetation mapping. Acknowledgements and Funding Contents Abbreviations 1 Biomes of the Southern Hemisphere: Introduction and Approach 1.1 Biome: What’s in the Name? 1.1.1 Biome’s Many Faces, Disguises, and Pretences 1.1.2 Azonality, Intrazonality, and Extrazonality 1.1.3 Scaling the Biome Concept 1.1.4 Ecotones in Biome Context 1.2 Southern Hemisphere in Focus 1.2.1 A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Climate of the Southern Hemisphere 1.2.2 North Versus South: A Brief Story of Two Worlds 1.2.3 A New Look at Biomes of the Southern Hemisphere 1.3 Why This Book? 1.4 Procedures and Tools to Address the Goals 1.5 Climate Diagrams as Bioclimatic Fingerprints References 2 Southern Hot Tropical Biomes 2.1 On Biome Classification of the Tropical Rainforests 2.2 The Large-Scale Patterns in the Subtropical Rainforests 2.3 Multi-faceted Southern Seasonal Tropical Biomes 2.3.1 Heterogeneity of the Savanna Biomes: A Southern Perspective General Patterns On the Origins of Savanna 2.3.2 Madagascan ‘Savannas’: Natural or Anthropogenic? 2.3.3 Underground Forests 2.4 Tropical Dry Forests Revisited 2.4.1 Tropical Dry Forest: What’s in the Name? 2.4.2 Typology of the Global TDF The Zonal TDF Types The Azonal TDF Types 2.4.3 A Critique of the So-Called ‘Succulent Biome’ References 3 Southern Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems: An Extratropical Marvel 3.1 Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems: Some Basics 3.1.1 Where to Find Them? 3.1.2 What’s in the Name? 3.1.3 Similarities, Convergence, Divergence 3.1.4 Diversity Patterns 3.2 Unique Features of the Southern MTEs 3.2.1 Australian ‘Mediterranean’: Home to the Most Extensive Temperate Woodland Zonal Australian Eucalypt Woodland Azonal Australian MTEs 3.2.2 The Diminished Role of Fire in the Chilean Matorral 3.2.3 Missing Flammable Woodlands in the Cape 3.2.4 Case of the Forests Left Behind: Relicts or Alternative Stable States? 3.2.5 Why Are the Australian MTEs So Poor in Annuals? 3.3 Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems in the Global Scheme of Biomes References 4 Dry Face of the ‘Wet Hemisphere’: Southern Deserts and Semideserts 4.1 Where to Find Those Arid Ecosystems, Thresholds, and Drivers 4.2 Australian Deserts? 4.3 Odd Ecotonal Thickets 4.3.1 Chaco and Espinal Where and What? Chaco and Espinal in Global Biome Context: A Variety of Opinions Chaco and Espinal in Global Biome Context: New Alternatives 4.3.2 Albany Thickets 4.4 Oceanic Coastal Semideserts: ‘Passatwüsten’ 4.4.1 Madagascan Thorny Thickets 4.4.2 Galapagos Coastal Semidesert 4.4.3 Tropical Atlantic Insular Coastal Semideserts References 5 Austral Temperate Zone: Either Neglected or Misunderstood 5.1 Warm-Temperate Forests and the Southern Hemisphere 5.1.1 Where to Find Them in the Southern Hemisphere? 5.1.2 A Comparison Between the WTF of Both Hemispheres 5.1.3 The Southern WTZ Biomes Southern Brazilian Araucaria Forest Biome Southern African Afrotemperate Forest Biome: Revisited East Australian Warm-Temperate Forest Biome Warm-Temperate Forests in New Zealand? 5.2 Oceanic Temperate Zone Recognised 5.2.1 Valdivian Oceanic Rainforest 5.2.2 The Oceanic Temperate Zone Forests of Southern Australia Relict Wet Eucalypt Oceanic Forests ‘Modern’ Wet Eucalypt Oceanic Forests 5.2.3 New Zealand Oceanic Rainforest 5.2.4 Island Occurrence of the OTZ 5.2.5 Zonoecotones Involving OTZ Eastern Tasmanian Temperate Forest Otago-Canterbury Temperate Forest 5.3 The Austro-Nemoral Forests 5.3.1 What is the Nemoral Zone? 5.3.2 Is There a ‘Nemoral’ Southern Hemispheric Analogue? 5.4 Tropical Montane Forest: Cold Islands in the Sea of Heat 5.4.1 Temperate Islands Within the Tropics 5.4.2 Global Variability of the TMF System 5.4.3 Supranubial Tropical Belt 5.5 ‘Boreal’ in the South? Antiboreal Rediscovered 5.5.1 Patagonian and Fuegian Antiboreal Biomes Magellanic Subantarctic Forest Andean Oro-Antiboreal Forest Australian Oro-Antiboreal Forest New Zealand Oro-Antiboreal Forest 5.5.2 Subantarctic Antiboreal Vegetation 5.5.3 A Word on ‘Megaherblands’ References 6 The Southern Steppes and Other Grassy Oddballs of the Southern Hemisphere 6.1 Patagonian ‘Steppe’ and Semidesert 6.2 The ‘Pampa-Problem’ Revisited … Again 6.3 African Montane Grasslands 6.3.1 Highveld and Manica Highland Grasslands 6.3.2 Angolan Montane Grasslands 6.4 Australasian Natural Grasslands 6.4.1 Tasmanian Tussock Grasslands 6.4.2 Monaro Tussock Grasslands 6.4.3 Bunya Grassy Balds 6.4.4 South Island Chionochloa Grasslands References 7 The Biomes of the Coldest Corners of the World 7.1 Arctic and Antarctic: The Same Zonobiome? 7.2 Rise and Fall of the Orobiome Concept 7.3 Temperate Alpine Biomes 7.3.1 Temperate Alpine Biomes of the Northern Hemisphere 7.3.2 Temperate Alpine Biomes of the Southern Hemisphere 7.3.3 The Oromediterranean Conundrum Chilean Austro-Oromediterranean Biome Cape Austro-Oromediterranean Biome The Global Position of the Austro-oromediterranean Biomes 7.4 Alpine Biomes of the Tropics 7.4.1 Subtropical Alpine Zone: Puna & Co Andean Puna Drakensberg Alpine Grassland Brazilian Campos de Altitude 7.4.2 Tropical Alpine Zone: Páramo & Co 7.5 Vegetation Belts, Timberlines, and the ‘Massenerhebung’ 7.5.1 Exposure and Wind Shadowing by Surrounding Mountains: A Modifier 7.5.2 Cloud-Belt Formation and Effect on Soil Nutrient Status, Nutrient Cycling, and Carbon Residence: An Outcome 7.5.3 Distance from the Sea: An Unresolved Problem References 8 Synthesis: A New Global Zonobiome Paradigm 8.1 Basic Principles of Biome Classification: New Lessons 8.1.1 Delimitation of Biomes A Critique of the WWF Ecoregion and Biome System A Critique of the Rivas-Martínez’s Bioclimatic Classification System A Critique of Conradi et al.’s Modelled Biome System A Critique of the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology A Critique of the Beierkuhnlein–Fischer’s Biome Mapping 8.2 The Old and the New Asymmetry Paradigms 8.3 Zonoecotones: The Linking Elements of the New Global Hierarchical Biome System 8.4 Further Challenges and Research Agenda References