Types and internal hydro-geomorphologic variability of mallines (wet-meadows) of Patagonia: Emphasis on volcanic plateaus

ELIZABETH MAZZONI ; RABASSA, JORGE OSCAR

JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2014 vol. 46 p. 170 - 182

0895-9811

?Mallines? (wet-meadows) are Patagonian ecosystems that provide hydrological, biological and scenicresources. They develop in landscape locations that are favourable for water concentration. The area ofeach ?mallín? is usually limited to a few, tens, or hundreds of hectares at most, but independently of theirsize, they present high variability in their internal physiographic characteristics. These are reflected onthe vegetation distribution that basically responds to the space and time water distribution in the?mallín?, both at the surface as well as across the soil profile.We analyze the internal variability of a ?mallín type? and present a conceptual map that illustrates thefunctional relationships established between four basic elements: geomorphology, hydrology, soils andvegetation, whose interrelationships allowed the differentiation of various situations, which maycorrespond both to different ?mallines? and to subunits within the same ?mallín?.