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Life zones of central Europe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Central Europe contains several life zones, depending on location and elevation.
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Geographically, Central Europe lies between the Baltic Sea and the Apennine and Balkan peninsulas. It includes the plains of Germany and Poland; the Alps; and the Carpathian Mountains. The Central European Flora region stretches from Central France to Central Romania and Southern Scandinavia.[1] The lowlands of Central Europe contain the Central European mixed forests ecoregion,[2] while the mountains host the Alps conifer and mixed forests[3] and Carpathian montane conifer forests ecoregions.[4]
An important factor in the local climate and ecology of Central Europe is the elevation: an increase of elevation by 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) causes the average air temperature to drop by 5 °C (9 °F) and decreases the amount of water that can be held by the atmosphere by 30%. This decrease in temperature and increase in rainfall result in altitudinal zonation, where the land can be divided into life zones of similar climate and ecology, depending on elevation.