Phytogeography of Altoandina province of the Southern Cone of South America

Abstract

The flora of high mountain areas is one of the least known and one of the most threatened by climate change. In addition, the phytogeographic delimitation of the mountains is difficult and not accurate enough. In this work we describe the flora of the Altoandina province in the Southern Cone of South America based on the geographical distribution of taxa exclusive to this province, we characterize the subdivisions at a regional level and generate a map of the identified districts. The results show that 883 taxa are exclusive of this province, of which 151 are only present in Chile, 220 in Argentina, and 512 are shared by both countries or are also present in Bolivia or other Andean countries. Asteraceae, Poaceae, Fabaceae, and Violaceae are the richest families in the province, while Senecio, Viola and Nototriche are the richest genera. Through a network-based analysis, we confirm the presence of three Districts in the Altoandina province: Quechua, Cuyano-Pikumche, and Nothoandino. This work aims to contribute to the knowledge on geographical patterns of the High Andean flora and its conservation.