世界之美就在台灣 (國家公園季刊 National Park )

台灣很小，在世界地圖上得花點眼力才能找著，這樣的小島，卻因為得天獨厚的條件，

造就了島上許多珍奇美妙的現象。曾有人是這麼形容台灣的：又大又小、又老又少。

「又大又小」是指生態面積很大，但土地面積很小；這使台灣擁有出色的生物和棲地多樣性，

成為北半球陸域生態的縮影；「又老又少」是指地質非常年輕，但卻擁有相當古老的物種。

只是，台灣這些讓人嘖嘖稱奇的獨特之處，對於居住在這塊土地上的人而言，是已經習以為常呢？

還是心懷珍惜？

Though as tiny as a dot on a world map,Taiwan is endowed with numerous unique spectacles.

Some describe Taiwan is both large and small, and that both old and young.

It means the island has a large area in terms of ecology and a small area of land,

boasting great diversity in life forms and habitats. And it is also young in

geology, but owns age-old species.

But has this amazing uniqueness been taken for granted by people living on this land?

Or has it been truly appreciated and cherished?

彈丸大小 卻擁有多樣美景

住在台灣的你我對於山區林間虛無縹緲的雲霧，不以為奇，但其實和台
灣同位於北迴歸線上的陸地，多半是沙漠、半沙漠和疏林，少有綠意盎然
的森林。
「 與台灣同緯度的沙烏地阿拉伯、美墨邊界、埃及等，都是乾旱沙漠，生
態單調，而台灣卻是潮濕多雨、地貌多變、生態豐富，主要便是受造山運
動、火山噴發、海洋調節、東北季風盛行的影響。」對台灣林相有深入研究
的東華大學榮譽教授徐國士說明著。
幸運的台灣因處東北季風與西南氣流交匯帶，又居海洋型氣候與大陸型
氣候的過渡區域，上層空氣極不穩定，加上高山與平地海拔落差大，海拔
超過3,000公尺的山頭就超過250座。高山攔截夏季的西南氣流和冬季的東
北季風帶來的水氣，大氣壓力與溫度變化使得向上移動的氣流更為強勁，
導致海拔1,800至2,500公尺的山區容易形成雲霧，山勢地形效應使得白天
陽光照射，水氣上升，午後山區溫度漸降，水氣停滯形成雲霧或雨滴，如
此日復一日，中高海拔森林即形成生態豐富的神秘霧林帶 。

Small but Diversely Beautiful

For people in Taiwan, mountains and forests bothed in fogs and clouds are
seldom marveled at. But in other parts of the world around the Tropic of Cancer,
such verdant landscapes are as rare as hen’s teeth.
“At similar latitude, Saudi Arabia, the U.S.-Mexico border area, Egypt, etc.
possess mostly dry deserts. By contrast, Taiwan is humid and rainy with a great
variety of landforms and species thanks to orogenesis, volcanic eruptions, ocean
regulation, and the northeast monsoon,” explained Prof. Emeritus Kuo-shih Hsu
of Nat’l Dong Hwa Univ.

Taiwan is luckily featured with both oceanic and continental climates and both
northeast monsoon and southwest airflow. The unstable air in the upper layer,
the huge elevation difference of landforms, and the large number (over 250) of
3,000m-plus mountain peaks result in great changes in atmospheric pressure and
temperatures, which leads to the frequent formation of fogs, clouds or rain drops
in the mountain areas from 1,800m to 2,500m in elevation. All this has contributed
to the fairytale cloud forests at the middle and high altitudes of the island.