Above tree line

Alpine Meadows

Above the trees, below the snow. Short summers, intense colour, animals that won't go lower.

Species

6,500

Plant species

4,000

Endangered

22%

Pressure

Tree line creeping up ~3 m per decade

Surprise of the day

Pikas don't hibernate — they spend summer cutting and curing 'haystacks' of plants to eat all winter under the snow.

Who eats who

Apex predators on top. Energy flows down.

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