Spatial structure of equatorial landscapes of the Merkele Ridge (Seram Island, Indonesia)
P.S. BELYANIN
Pacific Geographical Institute, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia
Keywords: Pacific ring of fire, Seram Island, equatorial landscapes, landscapes taxa, landscapes structure
Abstract
The landscape structure of the equatorial Merkele Ridge composed of limestones, on which the highest peak of the Maluku Islands, Mount Binaya, is located, has been studied. As a result, landscapes taxa spectrum, which is not characteristic in extratropical-latitude mountains, has been identified. The main factors determining the modern landscape structure of the Merkele Ridge are the formation of limestone by coral polyps, which was subsequently raised up to three thousand meters above the level of the World Ocean by tectonic movements, and also the hypsometric factor and the humid equatorial climate. The influence of the relief-substrate basis on the landscapes taxa differentiation is shown. Seven landscape taxa were identified. An analysis of the spatial distribution of soil types and plant formations made it possible to single out, among them, 15 smaller landscape taxa. Their vertical differentiation was caused by a decrease in temperatures and a change in moisture with increasing height. The taxonomic composition of vegetation becomes simpler in this case. Representatives of the flora of higher latitudes appear in it. The anthropogenic factor has had a strong impact on landscape taxa in the lower belt of the ridge. Below the isohypse of 300 m there emerged landscape taxa with a predominance of plant communities of cultivated plants, as well as those devoid of natural vegetation and soil cover, as a result of cutting down low-mountain rain forests on gentle and moderately steep slopes. Landscape taxa above the isohypse of 300 m have mostly preserved their natural state.
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