ABSTRACT
It seems reasonable to suppose that climate is a primary determinant of altitudinal changes in geoecosystems, and especially of vegetation and soil zones. The general pattern of climatic changes with elevation would surely lead to this supposition (e.g. Barry 1992). On ascending a mountain, the air temperature will fall at a rate of about 6°C every 1,000 m. Considerable deviations from this average rate will arise from local topographic and climatic conditions, and the rate is normally less in winter than in summer, and less at night than during the day. On high mountains, temperatures regularly fall below freezing point. With adequate precipitation, high mountains are therefore commonly capped with snow. On average, mountains receive more rainfall than lowlands at the same latitude. Indeed, in deserts, they may support altitudinal oases (Cloudsley-Thompson 1975b). To some extent, the differences between coastal and interior continental climates apply to the climates of coastal and interior mountain ranges. It is also generally true that the vegetation zones on large and non-isolated mountains occur higher than they do on small and isolated mountains. This is a consequence of the Massenerhebung Effect whereby great mountain masses to some extent create their own climates.
