Abstract EN:

A model of the post-cretaceous rift-flank uplift of the western Ghat is proposed, based on apatite fission-track analysis and geomorphological field data. The relevance of geophysical processes to explain uplift is discussed. The bioclimatic consequences of the plateau uplift on the tropical landscape are detailed at length. Since the relief was erected across the path of the monsoon, a steep and durable environmental gradient was installed, and the pattern of soils, wash divides and vegetation appears to be strictly governed by the rainfall pattern and the denudation rate. The theoretical implications for climatic geomorphology, the soil sciences, biogeography, as well as the practical implications for soil fertility and agricultural potential, are set against other, better known examples from the tropical world, namely western Africa. Important questions are raised on the relevance of existing tropical landscape development models