Holdridge life zone physical inconsistency

Abstract:

Life zones is a very used classification system, developed by L.R. Holdridge in 1967, used to discern why plants have different adaptation mechanism to their surrounding environment. In this paper, the relation between potential evapotranspiration rate (ETr ), anual precipitation (P ) and biotemperature (Tb ) in the Holdridge triangle, is parametrized (P = (500/9)*ETr) to evaluate if the rain process is conserved in Colombia. Further, an adiabatic ascent of air with diurnal and interannual variability, and cluster analysis is view as a classification example of the advantage of using physical process to evaluate the plants adaptation mechanisms . The most inconsistency life zones are situated in the rainiest places of Colombian pacific costs in tropical latitudinal region, are non-exist places in holdridge triangle with annual biotemperature higher than 26◦ C, annual precipitation about 10.000mm and annual potential evapotranspiration rate about 0.1. The difference between Holdridge predicted precipitation and the precipitation measured with TRMM are about 5.000mm in these places. Classification systems based on an annual average, do not stablish adaptation as a function of diurnal variability, for example, the difference between valley sides vegetation could not being determined. This kind of limitations, added to a validation procces and the auscence of a physic procces in the variable interaction, make the Holdridge Life Zones a very useful tool, but physically inconsistent for caracterice vegetation as a function of precipitation. The rain process is very complex, depend of mass and energy exchanges and is still a controversial topic in atmospheric modeling, as a biotic pump.