A historical baseline study of the páramo of Antisana in the Ecuadorian Andes including the impacts of burning, grazing and trampling

Grubb, P. J.; Lloyd, Jon; Pennington, T. D.; Páez‐Bimos, Sebastián

doi:10.1080/17550874.2020.1819464

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…well‐mixed upper 1 m) where vegetation–soil interactions take place. Plant diversity in the region is high (Grubb et al, 2020): 52% of the surface area is dominated by cushion‐forming plants, 11% by tussock grasses and both vegetation types co‐exist in the remaining areas (Erauw, 2019).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study area was part of an old farm, where for decades burning, trampling, and grazing with ca. 18 000 livestock, mostly sheep, took place (Grubb et al, 2020). Since 2011 the Jatunhuayco catchment has been owned by the Empresa Pública Metropolitana de Agua Potable y Saneamiento of Quito (EPMAPS), who prohibited all anthropogenic degrading activities.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Vegetation effects on soil pore structure and hydraulic properties in volcanic ash soils of the high Andes

Páez‐Bimos

Villacís

Morales

et al. 2022

Hydrological Processes

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Soil hydraulic properties control the provision of hydrological services. Vegetation and topography influence these properties by altering soil structure and porosity. The underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood for the high Andean region. In this study, we examined how vegetation and topographic attributes are related to soil hydraulic properties and soil pore structure in young volcanic ash soils, and further correlated them to soil texture, organic carbon, and root characteristics to explain these relationships. In a 0.7 km 2 study site located in the Andean páramo of northern Ecuador, we measured soil water retention, saturated hydraulic conductivity, bulk density (BD), and pore size distribution parameters on eight soil profiles with contrasting vegetation types (cushion-forming plants vs. tussock grasses) and topographic positions (summit vs. hillslope). We observed significant differences in soil hydraulic properties and soil pore structure in the uppermost horizons by vegetation type, whereas topography had a minor effect. In the A horizons, we found higher water retention at saturation and field capacity (10%-14%), higher total available water (8%-15%), and higher saturated hydraulic conductivity (4-12 times) under cushion-forming plants compared to tussock grasses. The elevated values under cushion plants were attributed to the presence of larger pores, lower soil BD, and higher soil organic carbon content as a result of coarser root systems. Total available water was generally high (0.34-0.40 cm 3 cm À3 ), and locally not associated with any soil property. The higher water retention in soils under cushion vegetation can enhance soil water storage for plants and the regulation of water flows during prolonged

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation effects on soil pore structure and hydraulic properties in volcanic ash soils of the high Andes

Páez‐Bimos

Villacís

Morales

et al. 2022

Hydrological Processes

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“…In the tropical part of the Andes, the uppermost elevational limit of vascular plants on Chimborazo (Morueta-Holme et al 2015, 2016, Moret et al 2019a) and the volcanic Mt Antisana, Ecuador (5753 m; 0°28ʹS, 78°08ʹW) (Hestmark 2019, Grubb et al 2020 appear to be between 5200 m (Pentocalia chimborazensis = Senecio hallii) (Diels 1937) and 5185m (Draba aretioides). Sklenář (2016) argues that there are no reliable records for this taxon from Chimborazo, whereas Morueta-Holme et al (2015, 2016 collected sterile specimens and note that León-Yánez and Pitman ( 2003) list D. aretioides from Chimborazo.…”

Section: South America and Antarcticamentioning

confidence: 99%

High-elevation limits and the ecology of high-elevation vascular plants: legacies from Alexander von Humboldt

Birks¹

2021

Frontiers of Biogeography

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Highlights• The known uppermost elevation limits of vascular plants in 22 regions from northernmost Greenland to Antarctica through the European Alps, North American Rockies, Andes, East and southern Africa, and South Island, New Zealand are collated to provide a global view of high-elevation limits.• The relationships between potential climatic treeline, upper limit of closed vegetation in tropical (Andes,

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“…Palaeoecology offers the ability to supplement the standard 'reference ecosystem' approach by providing near-natural restoration targets rooted in empirical data. Using vegetation proxy data e.g., pollen, phytoliths, sedaDNA, recovered from sedimentary archives, long-term ecosystem changes and community response to environmental and anthropogenic drivers can be characterised over periods beyond that of observational studies, which rarely exceed 60 years (Grubb et al, 2020). The advantages of incorporating evidence of past vegetation into conservation and restoration planning has long been recognised (Godwin, 1956;Swetnam et al, 1999;Willis and Birks, 2006;Jackson and Hobbs, 2009;Seddon et al, 2014;Gillson and Marchant, 2014;Whitlock et al, 2018;Fordham et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating a palaeo-perspective into Andean montane forest restoration

Loughlin

Gosling²,

Duivenvoorden³

et al. 2022

Front. Conserv. Sci.

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Reference ecosystems used in tropical forest restoration lack the temporal dimension required to characterise a mature or intact vegetation community. Here we provide a practical ‘palaeo-reference ecosystem’ for the eastern Andean forests of Ecuador to complement the standard ‘reference ecosystem’ approach. Pollen assemblages from sedimentary archives recovered from Ecuadorian montane forests are binned into distinct time periods and characterised as 1) Ancient (pre-human arrival), 2) Pre-European (Indigenous cultivation), 3) Successional (European arrival/Indigenous depopulation), 4) Mature (diminished human population), 5) Deforested (re-colonisation), and 6) Modern (industrial agriculture). A multivariate statistical approach is then used to identify the most recent period in which vegetation can be characterised as mature. Detrended correspondence analysis indicates that the pollen spectra from CE 1718-1819 (time bin 4 – Mature (diminished human population)) is most similar to that of a pre-human arrival mature or intact state. The pollen spectra of this period are characterised by Melastomataceae, Fabaceae, Solanaceae and Weinmannia. The vegetation of the 1700s, therefore, provides the most recent phase of substantial mature vegetation that has undergone over a century of recovery, representing a practical palaeo-reference ecosystem. We propose incorporating palynological analyses of short cores spanning the last 500 years with botanical inventory data to achieve more realistic and long-term restoration goals.

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A historical baseline study of the páramo of Antisana in the Ecuadorian Andes including the impacts of burning, grazing and trampling

Cited by 8 publications

References 50 publications

Vegetation effects on soil pore structure and hydraulic properties in volcanic ash soils of the high Andes

Vegetation effects on soil pore structure and hydraulic properties in volcanic ash soils of the high Andes

High-elevation limits and the ecology of high-elevation vascular plants: legacies from Alexander von Humboldt

Incorporating a palaeo-perspective into Andean montane forest restoration

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