Tropical Andes

The Tropical Andes is a biodiversity hotspot designated by Conservation International which covers several montane and alpine ecoregions along the northern and central Andes range of South America, extending across portions of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.

The hotspot encompasses several habitat types, including:

tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests: montane tropical forests occur between 500 and 1,500 meters elevation. Cloud forests called yungas, ceja de selva, or ceja de la montaña can be found between 800 to 3,500 meters elevation; these forests are some of the most species-rich and diverse on earth.
tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests: montane dry forests can be found in rain shadow Andean valleys.
montane grasslands and shrublands: above the treeline and below the permanent snowline, from 3,000-4,800 meters elevation, are some of the most extensive tropical alpine habitats in the world, including páramo, a dense, low-lying landscape of bunchgrasses, sedges, cushion plants, mosses and lichens in the cold and humid northern Andes. The drier puna is characterized by alpine bunchgrasses interspersed with herbs, grasses, lichens, mosses, ferns, cushion plants, and occasional low shrubs, with sedges and rushes in poorly-drained areas.