Topographic Factors

Topographic factors describe the surface relief of the land — its topography — and they influence vegetation both directly and indirectly. Directly, topography controls the local (micro-)climate of an area by governing how solar radiation, temperature, humidity and rainfall interact across differences in latitude, altitude, slope and aspect; indirectly, it also reshapes local soil conditions (for example, by controlling drainage and erosion). The textbook groups topographic influence under four headings: latitude and altitude, the **direction (aspect) of a mount …