Land Surface

The land surface may be at sea level or above sea level. It may be flat for sloping. Thus, the land surface is often responsible for the marked variation in the vegetation of a place. For example, a mountain in the tropics may have a rain forest vegetation as its base and an afro alpine vegetation neat its peak.

    The gradient of the slope affects the growth of organisms. A steep slope encourages fast run off of water and, therefore, encourages erosion, which results on shallow and infertile soil. In turn , plant growth is reduced and only small plants and a few animals are present. With gentle slopes, the flow is surface water is slow, erosion is reduced, and more water is available to plants. More plants and animals are present on such slopes