Leeward side growth is prioritized by vegetation growing in environments with high values of this quantity, allowing them to take up a flag-like appearance. For 10 points each:
[10e] Name this quantity that, along with latitude, defines the boundary of tree growth in alpine ecosystems at the“tree line.”
ANSWER: altitude [or elevation; accept height]
[10m] Robert Colwell posited how intermediate values of altitude and longitude maximize this quantity in the mid-domain effect. Indices measuring this quantity incorporate combinations of dominance, evenness, and richness.
ANSWER: biodiversity [accept species diversity; prompt on number of species]
[10h] The mid-domain effect may explain why these ecosystems contain the highest endemism of epiphytes. Vegetation in these relatively high-altitude ecosystems receives most of its water from fog drip.
ANSWER: cloud forests [or water forests; accept primas forests or tropical montane cloud forests or TMCFs or mossy forests; prompt on tropical forests]
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