Included here are the Andes, the Coastal Cordillera of Chile and the Córdoba Mountains of central Argentina. The Central Andes comprises two parallel mountain chains separated by a wide, high plateau known as the altiplano. Here the vegetation includes the so-called puna, salt flats (salares) and lagoons. The area once supported an extensive inland sea, but only salt flats remain. However, Lake Titicaca at an altitude of 3,812 m on the Peru and Bolivia border is the highest commercially viable lake in the world, and in terms of volume, is the largest lake in South America. The northern or tropical Andes has been described as the richest and most diverse biodiversity hotspot on earth and has been described as a global epicentre of biodiversity.

Central Andean Saltmarsh

These halophytic or salt-loving communities are mainly found in areas close to salt flats. Some of the typical species include Atriplex atacamensis, Distichlis humilis, Muhlenbergia fastigiata, Parastrephia lucida, Salicornia pulvinata, Senecio pampae, Suaeda foliosa, Tessaria absintoides and Triglochin maritima. On the Uyuni salt flats there are ‘islands’ of low salinity supporting cacti of the genus Oreocereus. In the Lake Titicaca area the saline vegetation has been described as halophytic prairie with stands occurring in both dry and humid puna - examples can be found adjacent to the Desaguadero River. Characteristic species include Anthobryum triandrum, Distichlis humilis, Muhlenbergia fastigiata, Parastrephia lucida, Salicornia pulvinata, Suaeda fruticosa var crassifolia and Triglochin maritima.

References

Beck, S.G., 1985. Florula ecológica de Bolivia: Puna semiárida en el Altiplano Boliviano. Ecología en Bolivia, 6: 1-41.

Cabrera, A.L.1968. Ecologia vegetal de la puna. In: Geoecology of the mountainous regions of the tropical Americas. Ed. C. Troll. Colloquium Geographicum Vol. 9, Ferd. Dummerlers Verlag, Bonn.

Davis, S. D., V. H. Heywood, O. Herrera-MacBryde, J. Villa-Lobos & A. C. Hamilton. 1997. Altoandina Argentina, Chile. Centres of plant diversity: A guide and strategy for their conservation, Vol. 3 The Americas. Eds. S.D. Davis, V.H. Heywood, O. Herrera-MacBryde, J. Villa-Lobos and A C. Hamilton IUCN, WWF, Oxford, UK.

Galán de Mera, A., Cáceres, C. & González, A. 2003. La vegetación de la alta montana andina del sur del Peru. Acta Botanica Malacitana, 28: 121–147.

Luebert, F. & Gajardo, R. 2005. Vegetacion alto andina de Parinacota (norte de Chile) y una sinopsis de la vegetacion de la Puna meridional. Phytocoenologia, 35: 79–128.

Molina, J. A., Navarro, G., Barra, N. De la & Lumbreras, A. 2007. Andean aquatic vegetation in central Bolivia. Phytocoenologia, 37: 753-768.

Siebert, P. 1983. Human impact on landscape and vegetation in the Central High Andes. In: Man’s impact on vegetation. Eds. M. J. A. Werger and I. Ikusima. Dr W. Junk Publishers.

Vargas, M. F. R., Cruz, M. L. &  Rivero, A. L. 2003. Lake Titicaca. Lake Basin Management Initiative. Experience and Lessons Learned Brief. A paper presented at the Lake Basin Management Initiative Regional Workshop for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas held at Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, USA. 2003.

Young, K.R., B. Leon, A. Cano & O. Herrera-MacBryde. 1997. Peruvian Puna Peru. In: Centres of plant diversity: A guide and strategy for their conservation, Vol. 3 The Americas. Eds. S.D. Davis, V.H. Heywood, O. Herrera-MacBryde, J. Villa-Lobos and A C. Hamilton. IUCN, WWF, Oxford, U.K.