page_title: Quelccaya Ice Cap
section_title: Vegetation and animal life
hierarchical_section_title: Quelccaya Ice Cap / Vegetation and animal life
caption_attribution_description: English: White-fronted Ground-tyrant, Peru
context_page_description: The Quelccaya Ice Cap is the second largest glaciated area in the tropics, after Coropuna. Located in the Cordillera Oriental section of the Andes mountains of Peru, the ice cap covers an area of 42.8 square kilometres with up to 200 metres thick ice. It is surrounded by tall ice cliffs and a number of outlet glaciers, the largest of which is known as Qori Kalis Glacier; the terrain surrounding the ice cap features lakes, moraines, peat bogs and wetlands and features a rich flora and fauna, including birds which have been observed to nest on the ice cap. Water from Quelccaya eventually nourishes the Inambari River and the Vilcanota River and is an important source of water.
  A number of ice cores have been obtained from Quelccaya, including two ice cores in 1983 which are the first ice cores obtained outside of the polar regions. Past climate states, including evidence of the Little Ice Age, regional droughts and wet periods with historical significance and past and recent El Niño events, have been reconstructed from data in these ice cores. The ice cap is also regularly monitored and a weather station operates on it.
context_section_description: The terrain west of Quelccaya is sparsely vegetated with high elevation tundra vegetation. The vegetation in the region is known as puna, which is a kind of grassland; above 4,300 metres (14,100 ft) elevation it is defined as "super-Puna", and consists of herb and shrubs such as Plantago and trees like Polylepis which grow to the ice cap and often have a krummholz appearance. The only human use of the area is livestock grazing but agriculture has also been reported.
  Aquatic plants are found in lakes. The glacial runoff and precipitation guarantee an ample water supply, leading to the development of wetlands known as bofedales and peat; Distichia muscoides is the dominant plant in the bofedales and these wetlands are hotspots of biodiversity. Tussock grasses have been expanding in the area. Other plants include Festuca orthophylla, jarava ichu and nettles; in total there are over fifty plant species. Lichens grow on rocks; 23 lichen species have been identified at Quelccaya.
  Among animals are 60 species of birds, mammals in the surrounding region such as Andean foxes, deers, wildcats, vicuñas and vizcachas, while tadpoles and water fleas occur in lakes. Two birds, the white-winged diuca finch and the white-fronted ground tyrant are known to nest on the Quelccaya ice cap, mostly within cavities in the ice that are barely accessible to humans. The diuca finch is known to nest on ice elsewhere in the tropical Andes, and other bird species might also nest on the Quelccaya ice. Other than this finch, only emperor penguins are known to nest on ice; ice is an ill-suited environment for the raising of young birds and Quelccaya presents additional challenges linked to its high elevation. Other birds also nest in protected locations in the general Quelccaya area and some species also roost on the ice.
caption: The white-fronted ground tyrant has been found to make nests on Quelccaya
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