Low temperature resistance in saplings and ramets of Polylepis sericea in the Venezuelan Andes

The study examines how Polylepis sericea, a tree species in the Venezuelan Andes, survives high-altitude cold stress. It finds that forest understories provide more stable temperatures than forest gaps or open páramo, and that saplings and ramets exhibit frost avoidance with ice nucleation and injury temperatures between -6 and -8 °C, which limits their distribution to specific less severe habitats.

• Microclimatic conditions in the forest understory are more stable than those in forest gaps and the surrounding open páramo, with the open páramo experiencing minimum temperatures near the ground that are 3.6 °C lower and maximum temperatures 9.0 °C higher than the forest understory.
• Saplings and ramets of Polylepis sericea demonstrate frost avoidance to low nighttime temperatures, with ice nucleation and injury temperatures occurring between -6 and -8 °C.
• The ability to resist low temperatures determines the island-like distribution of Polylepis sericea within specific habitats where temperatures are less severe.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Low temperature resistance in saplings and ramets of Polylepis sericea in the Venezuelan Andes. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/low-temperature-resistance-in-saplings-and-ramets-of-polylepis-sericea-in-the-venezuelan-andes/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Low temperature resistance in saplings and ramets of Polylepis sericea in the Venezuelan Andes. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/low-temperature-resistance-in-saplings-and-ramets-of-polylepis-sericea-in-the-venezuelan-andes/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Low temperature resistance in saplings and ramets of Polylepis sericea in the Venezuelan Andes |date=17 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/low-temperature-resistance-in-saplings-and-ramets-of-polylepis-sericea-in-the-venezuelan-andes/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025low, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Low temperature resistance in saplings and ramets of Polylepis sericea in the Venezuelan Andes}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/low-temperature-resistance-in-saplings-and-ramets-of-polylepis-sericea-in-the-venezuelan-andes/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }