Tag Archives: Mountains
Guanaco’s
The uncrowned kings and queens of the Andes… They are everywhere, lazily grazing the short savannah-grass, staring indifferently at passing cars. They crowd the lowlands in large herds, they appear on the highest peaks just like that. They even block the roads whenever … Continue reading
Fresh from the field!
The first day of fieldwork was long and intense, but nothing less than a success. It was a relief to find back our plots where we had left them behind 4 months ago. It was an even bigger relief to … Continue reading
More about roadside vegetation
Roadsides host more plant species than the natural vegetation. That is the stunning conclusion I draw in my previous post. While this difference is clear on low elevations, it vanishes as we get higher in the mountains, ending in similar … Continue reading
Changes in the mountains
Mountains are increasingly important islands of nature in our rapidly changing world. They contain some of the most diverse biodiversity hotspots in the world, have a high aesthetic value and their conservation even has a lot of economic importance. There … Continue reading
Humans in the lowlands
I like to compare mountains with islands. Islands of undisturbed nature in a wild and dangerous ocean of human influence; the lowlands. Wave after wave of human influences crashes on the slopes of the island-mountain, trying to erode the natural … Continue reading
A line-shaped ecosystem
Roadsides are wonderful. Over only a span of a few meters, the vegetation changes completely. A line-shaped ecosystems that differs in all imaginable conditions from the natural, undisturbed vegetation next to it. Over the pace of only a few footsteps, … Continue reading









