Biogeographic characterisation of the Austral High Andean district, Patagonian province, based on vascular plant taxa

Abstract. The Austral High Andean area extends from south-eastern Mendoza, Argentina, to the southernmost tip of South America in the form of isles on the peaks of the Andes range. The objective of this biogeographic regionalisation study was to characterise this area. Individual tracks were made on the basis of the distribution maps of 232 species of vascular plants present in the area, from which localities were identified and georeferenced. A parsimony analysis of endemicity (PAE) was used to obtain a generalised track. The results support an area of endemism located mainly in the Neuquén province, which is treated as a district of the Patagonian province that belongs to the Patagonian subregion of the Andean region. This track analysis is a preliminary contribution for understanding the distributional patterns of the High Andean biota within an evolutionary biogeographic framework.