Are there any tundras in tropical lattitudes?

Question

I have a homework question saying that there is indeed tundra biomes in some parts of the tropics and then asks what sort of climate control accounts for these cold places in the tropics.

I have no idea where to start. First of all, I can't even find any evidence that tundra biomes exist anywhere in the tropics and my only theories are limited to decreased sunlight due to thick jungle brush and/or heavy monsoon cloudcover. Does anyone have any more info?

Answer 1

No. There are no tundras in the tropical latitudes. They are only in the high latitudes. What makes a place a tundra is the fact that only algae, lichen, and moss can grow there. There are no places in the tropics where just algae, lichen, and moss can grow. The land is arable everywhere in the tropics. Either that, or the geographical areas would be tropical deserts.

Answer 2

Well.....there is Alpine tundra in the tropical band in 2 places, but it's not right at the equator. Look for extreme high altitude.

Answer 3

Yes, there is a small amount of tundra-like landscape at very high elevations (above 4500 meters) in the Andes and near the top of Kilimanjaro in Africa, These areas include the slopes of several volcanoes almost at the equator in Ecuador like Cotopaxi and Chimborazo. In the 19th century the great German Geographer and polymath Humboldt used the Ecuador volcanoes to suggest that latitude and elevation play a similar role in the biography of earth. The vegetation at high altitudes in the tropics is very similar to that in high latitude parts of the world.