Abstract
THREE types of rain forest can generally be recognized on wet tropical mountains: lowland rain forest, lower Montane rain forest and upper Montane rain forest1–3. These forest types can be defined both by distinctive plant associations1 and by the altitudinal limits within which they lie. These limits, however, vary with the type of mountain. On small, isolated mountains and outlying ridges of major ranges, the upper limit of lowland rain forest is about 700–900 m and that of the lower Montane rain forest about 1,200–1,600 m, whereas on the main ridges of major ranges the limits are higher, approximately 1,200–1,500 m and 1,800–2,300 m, respectively4. This phenomenon is known as the ‘Massenerhebung’ effect.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Richards, P. W., The Tropical Rain Forest (Cambridge Univ. 1952).
Grubb, P. J., Lloyd, J. R., Pennington, T. D., and Whitmore, T. C., J. Ecol., 51, 567 (1963).
Wyatt-Smith, J., Malay. Forest Rec., 23 (1963).
Grubb, P. J., and Whitmore, T. C., J. Ecol., 54, 303 (1966).
Baynton, H. W., J. Arnold Arbor., 49, 419 (1968).
Wadsworth, F., and Bonnet, J. A., Caribb. Forester, 12, 67 (1951).
Denisov, I. A., Soviet Soil Sci., 6, 604 (1962).
Whitmore, T. C., and Burnham, C. P., Malay. Nat. J., 22, 98 (1969).
Jenny, H., Bingham, F., and Padilla-Saravia, B., Soil Sci., 66, 173 (1948).
Jenny, H., Gessel, S. P., and Bingham, T., Soil Sci., 68, 419 (1949).
Birch, H. F., and Friend, N. T., J. Soil Sci., 7, 156 (1956).
Pecrot, A., Pédologie, 9, 227 (1959).
Laudelout, H., Meyer, J., and Peeters, A., Agricultura, 8, 103 (1960).
Yoda, K., and Kira, T., Nature and Life in S.E. Asia, 6, 83 (1969).
Nye, P. H., and Greenland, D. J., Comm. Bur. Soils, Tech. Comm., 51, 1 (1960).
Sioli, H., Schwabe, G. H., and Klinge, H., Trop. Ecol., 10, 72 (1969).
Melin, E., Ecology, 11, 72 (1930).
Broadfoot, W. M., and Pierre, W. H., Soil Sci., 48, 329 (1939).
Beck, G., Dommergues, Y., and van den Driessche, R., Ecologia Pl., 4, 237 (1969).
Wang, C.-W., The Forests of China, Maria Moors Cabot Foundation Publication 15 (Cambridge, Mass., 1961).
Ellenberg, H., Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen (Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart, 1963).
Wallace, T., The Diagnosis of Mineral Deficiencies in Plants by Visual Symptoms, third ed. (HMSO, London, 1961).
Purseglove, J. W., Tropical Crops: Dicotyledons (Longmans, London, 1968).
Brunig, E. F., Erdkunde, 23, 127 (1969).
Beadle, N. C. W., Ecology, 34, 426 (1953).
Loveless, A. R., Ann. Bot., 25, 168 (1961).
Loveless, A. R., Ann. Bot., 26, 551 (1962).
Beadle, N. C. W., Ecology, 43, 281 (1962).
Beadle, N. C. W., Ecology, 47, 992 (1966).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
GRUBB, P. Interpretation of the ‘Massenerhebung’ Effect on Tropical Mountains. Nature 229, 44–45 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/229044a0
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/229044a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Factors affecting spatial occupancy and local abundance of the Forest Thrush, Turdus lherminieri, in Guadeloupe forests
European Journal of Wildlife Research (2023)
-
The formation of avian montane diversity across barriers and along elevational gradients
Nature Communications (2022)
-
Comparative analysis of the mass elevation effect and its implication for the treeline between the Tibetan and Bolivian plateaus based on solar radiation
Journal of Mountain Science (2022)
-
Studies on the Evergreen Broad-leaved Forests of Yunnan, Southwestern China
The Botanical Review (2019)
-
Ecological and evolutionary diversification in the Australo-Papuan scrubwrens (Sericornis) and mouse-warblers (Crateroscelis), with a revision of the subfamily Sericornithinae (Aves: Passeriformes: Acanthizidae)
Organisms Diversity & Evolution (2018)