Life zones of Peru

When the Spanish arrived, they divided Peru into three main regions: the coastal region, that is bounded by the Pacific Ocean; the highlands, that is located on the Andean Heights, and the jungle, that is located on the Amazonian Jungle. But Javier Pulgar Vidal, a geographer who studied the biogeographic reality of the Peruvian territory for a long time, proposed the creation of eight Natural Regions. In 1941, he presented his thesis "Las Ocho Regiones Naturales del Perú" at the III General Assembly of the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History.
These eight Peruvian regions are:

Example: Andes 10°S

Classic version, Amazonic side

Sea level
* Estimated 22 - 24°C, but the cold Humboldt Current generates fog on the coast sideTierra caliente up to 2,500 ft.
* Crops: Cacao, Banana, Sugarcane, Manioc, Sweet Potatoes, Yams.Tierra templada up to 6,000 ft
* The warmest month has an average temperature of below 22°C or 72°F.
* Crops: Coffee, Tobacco, Maize, Coca, Peruvian Pepper, Avocado, Guave, Cherimoya, Plum, Citrus fruits. Tierra fría below 12,000 ft
* The warmest month has an average temperature of below 18°C or 64°F.
* Crops: Potato, Maize, Squash, Passionfruit, Papaya, Peach, Wheat, Rye, and Barley. Farming of cattle. Tierra helada above 12,000 ft
* The definition of treeline of Coniferae: the warmest month has an average temperature of below 10°C or 50°F ).
* Crops above tree line: Quinoa, Cañigua, Mashua, Oca, Tarhui, Broad beans and Ulluco. Farming of Sheep, Llamas and Alpacas.
* Terrestrial Biome Type 10: Montane grasslands and shrublandsTierra Nevada (Janca), above the snow line, 15,000 ft
* Just warmer than -1°C over rocks or just warmer than -3°C over snow, annual mean temperature).

Javier Pulgar Vidal's version

The Peruvian geographer Javier Pulgar Vidal divided Peru in 8 regions :

Chala 0– 500 m
Omagua 80– 400 m
Rupa-Rupa 400– 1,000 m
Yungas
*Loma-Vegetation 450– 600 m
*Fluvial Yungas 1,000- 2,300 m
Quechua 2,300– 3,500 m
Suni 3,500– 4,100 m
Puna 4,100– 4,800 m
Janca above 4,800 m, permafrost, rocks, snow and ice

Overview - Amazonic side

Mouth of the Amazon River, Atlantic Ocean
* Belém, Brazil, 24 m, annual mean temperature 26.0°C
* Gurupa várzea
* Manaus, Brazil, 72 m, annual mean temperature 26.6°C
* Monte Alegre várzea
* Purus várzea
Colombia - Peru - Brazil border
* Leticia, Colombia, 84 m, annual mean temperature 25.8°C
* Tierra Caliente or Tropical rainforest
** Omagua or Selva baja
** Iquitos, Peru, 126 m, annual mean temperature 26.2°C
** Rupa-Rupa or Selva alta
* Yunga fluvial
** Peruvian Yungas
* Quechua
Tree line
* Tierra Helada
** Suni
Mountain pass
* Puna
** Central Andean wet puna
** Central Andean puna
* "Andean-Alpine desert"
Snow line
* Tierra Nevada or Janca
Peak

Estimated temperatures - Continental Divide

Explanations:

Region, elevation ; avg annual precipitation ; avg annual temperature ;
Peruvian Highland Rainforest, Cloud forest and Temperate forest ;
Cusco reference, estimated avg annual temperature ;
Snow line reference, Humboldt cold current/ Pacific climate influence, estimated avg annual temperature.
* Cuzco, Peru; 3,249 m; avg annual temperature 12.5 °C; avg annual precipitation 736 mm.
* Lima, Peru; 30 m; avg annual temperature 19.2 °C ; avg annual precipitation 15 mm.

	Elevation	West - Pacific side	East - Amazonian side
Highland Rainforest or Selva alta	400 m	-	26.5 °C
Loma-Vegetation	500 m	about 21.1 °C	-
Cloud forest or Fluvial Yunga	1,000 m	-	23.5 °C
Quechua - Montane Valleys	2,300 m	-	17.2 °C
Amazonian Tree line of Coniferae: 10 °C	about 3,500 m	-	about 10 °C
Mountain pass influence	4,100 m	about 3.4 °C
Vegetation end	about 4,800 m	about 0.0 °C	-
Snow line	about 5,000 m	about -1.0 °C	-

Example: Kallawaya Region, Bolivia

Altitudinal zonation: Kallawaya Region, around Charazani, Bolivia. Glacier

* Elevation: 5,900- 5,200 m, Annual mean temperature: below 0 °C, Agriculture: noneHigh Mountain Desert, Werneria ciliolata on scree
* Elevation: 5,200- 5,000 m, Annual mean temperature: below 0 °C - 0 °C, Agriculture: none.Grass Zone
* Calamagrostis minima Steppe,
**Elevation: 5,000- 4,600 m, Annual mean temperature: 0- 3.5 °C, Farming: alpacas, lamas.
* Pycnophyllum Steppe,
**Elevation: 4,600- 4,300 m, Annual mean temperature: 3.5- 7.5 °C, Farming: alpacas, lamas.
* Aciachne Humid Grassland,
**Elevation: 4,300- 3,900 m, Annual mean temperature: 7.5- 10.0 °C, Farming: alpacas, lamas, pigs; Agriculture: bitter potatoes,, ; Fallow land: more than 8 years.Shrub Zone
* Satureja Shrub, Baccharis pentandii Shrub, with Berberis,
**Elevation: 3,900- 3,600 m, Annual mean temperature: 10.0- 11.5 °C, Farming: sheep; Agriculture: potatoes, oca, ulluco, barley; Fallow land: 3 to 4 years.
* Mutisia Shrub, Baccharis pentlandii Shrub, with Siphocampylus,
**Elevation: 3,600- 2,700 m, Annual mean temperature: 11.5- 16.5 °C, Farming: sheep, cattle; Agriculture: wheat, peas, beans, maize up to 3,500 m with crop rotation.
* Kaunia longipetiolata Shrub,
**Elevation: 3,200- 2,700 m, Annual mean temperature: 13.5- 16.5 °C, Farming: cattle; Agriculture: maize, wheat, beans, spring potatoes, use of fertilizers, no crop rotation.
* Highland Rainforest,
**Elevation: below 2,700 m, Annual mean temperature: over 17.0 °C, Farming: cattle; Agriculture: tropical fruits, oranges, coffee, coca at around 2,000 m.