Biodiversity Patterns and Continental Insularity in the Tropical High Andes

Anthelme, Fabien; Jacobsen, Dean; Macek, Petr; Meneses, Rosa Isela; Moret, Pierre; Beck, Stephan; Dangles, Olivier

doi:10.1657/1938-4246-46.4.811

Cited by 48 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 70 publications

(16 reference statements)

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“…While projected future changes in Andean biomes due to climate change remain somewhat uncertain (Tovar et al, 2013), there are many impacts of climate change on Andean ecosystems that are already being felt, such as the upslope migration of the Andean timberline, ecotones and vegetation zones and increasing continental insularity (Feeley and Silman, 2010;Feeley et al, 2011;Anderson et al, 2011;Lutz et al, 2013;Anthelme et al, 2014;Morueta-Holme et al, 2015;Zimmer et al, 2017), changes in species composition of lake ecosystems (Michelutti et al, 2015) or emergence of new invasive species, pests and vectorborne disease (e.g. Seimon et al, 2007;Dangles et al, 2008;Siraj et al, 2014).…”

Section: Downstream Ecological Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid decline of snow and ice in the tropical Andes – Impacts, uncertainties and challenges ahead

Vuille

Carey

Huggel

et al. 2018

Earth-Science Reviews

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Glaciers in the tropical Andes have been retreating for the past several decades, leading to a temporary increase in dry season water supply downstream. Projected future glacier shrinkage, however, will lead to a long-term reduction in dry season river discharge from glacierized catchments. This glacier retreat is closely related to the observed increase in high-elevation, surface air temperature in the region. Future projections using a simple freezing level height-equilibrium-line altitude scaling approach suggest that glaciers in the inner tropics, such as Antizana in Ecuador, may be most vulnerable to future warming while glaciers in the more arid outer tropics, such as Zongo in Bolivia, may persist, albeit in a smaller size, throughout the 21st century regardless of emission scenario. Nonetheless many uncertainties persist, most notably problems with accurate snowfall measurements in the glacier accumulation zone, uncertainties in establishing accurate thickness measurements on glaciers, unknown future changes associated with local-scale circulation and cloud cover affecting glacier energy balance, the role of aerosols and in particular black carbon deposition on Andean glaciers, and the role of groundwater and aquifers interacting with glacier meltwater.The reduction in water supply for export-oriented agriculture, mining, hydropower production and human consumption are the most commonly discussed concerns associated with glacier retreat, but many other aspects including glacial hazards, tourism and recreation, and ecosystem integrity are also affected by glacier retreat. Social and political problems surrounding water allocation for subsistence farming have led to conflicts due to lack of adequate water governance. Local water management practices in many regions reflect cultural belief systems, perceptions and spiritual values and glacier retreat in some places is seen as a threat to these local livelihoods.Comprehensive adaptation strategies, if they are to be successful, therefore need to consider science, policy, culture and practice, and involve local populations. Planning needs to be based not only on future scenarios derived from physically-based numerical models, but must also consider societal needs, economic agendas, political conflicts, socioeconomic inequality and cultural values. This review elaborates on the need for adaptation as well as the challenges and constraints many adaptation projects are faced with, and lays out future directions where opportunities exist to develop successful, culturally acceptable and sustainable adaptation strategies.

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Section: Downstream Ecological Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid decline of snow and ice in the tropical Andes – Impacts, uncertainties and challenges ahead

Vuille

Carey

Huggel

et al. 2018

Earth-Science Reviews

Self Cite

250

213

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Therefore, the efficient wind-pollination of Puna grasses drive their dominance in even isolated alpine areas (Anthelme et al, 2014). Puna's most abundant crops, either do not need pollination -to produce harvestable organs (e.g.…”

Section: Genetic Resources Pollination Regulation and Pest And Disementioning

confidence: 99%

Key ecosystem services and ecological intensification of agriculture in the tropical high-Andean Puna as affected by land-use and climate changes

Rolando

Turin

Ramírez

et al. 2017

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

106

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“…The páramo includes all natural and semi-natural ecosystems located above the montane treeline (∼3,000-5,000 m) in the northern tropical Andes of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru (Luteyn, 1999) and presents an astonishing phytodiversity of almost 500 genera and 5,000 plant species, 60-80% of which are endemic (Londoño et al, 2014;Rangel-Churio, 2015). It is mostly thanks to the recent orogeny of the northern tropical Andes, geographic proximity to the Amazonian and Chocó-Pacific biomes, and relatively stable climatic conditions though time that the páramo evolved to become the world's coldest and fastest evolving biodiversity hotspot Anthelme et al, 2014). The páramo, with a spatial distribution over 20 degrees latitude and 2,000 m elevation, constitutes an excellent biogeographical model system to represent tropical mountains worldwide (Anthelme and Peyre, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine-Scale Plant Richness Mapping of the Andean Páramo According to Macroclimate

et al. 2019

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Understanding the main relationships between the current macroclimate and broad spatial patterns of plant diversity is a priority in biogeography, and although there is an important body of studies on the topic worldwide, tropical mountains remain underrepresented. Because understanding primary drivers of diversity patterns in the Andean páramo is still in its infancy, we focused on evaluating the role of the current macroclimate in form of three complementary hypotheses, energy, seasonality and harshness, in explaining local variation of plant species richness. We relied on 1,559 vegetation plots that offered a fine-scale outlook on real species assemblages due to community rules and species' interactions with their surrounding environment, including climate. Generalized Least Squares (GLS) regression models provided insight on the significance of the different hypotheses in explaining local plant richness, but only the energy and seasonality hypotheses received partial support. The best model was then combined with spatial interpolation Kriging modeling techniques to project species richness for a standardized 25 m 2 plot throughout the entire páramo biogeographical province. We highlighted a North-South increase in richness with several species-rich areas, potential local biodiversity hotspots, independent of the general gradient: the Amotape-Huancabamba zone, Sangay and Cotacachi areas, and eastern Venezuelan Andes. Our endeavor to finely map local richness is the first effort predicting macroecological patterns in the emblematic Andean páramo and contributes novel biogeographical knowledge useful to further support in-depth research and conservation focus in the northern Andes.

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Biodiversity Patterns and Continental Insularity in the Tropical High Andes

Cited by 48 publications

References 70 publications

Rapid decline of snow and ice in the tropical Andes – Impacts, uncertainties and challenges ahead

Rapid decline of snow and ice in the tropical Andes – Impacts, uncertainties and challenges ahead

Key ecosystem services and ecological intensification of agriculture in the tropical high-Andean Puna as affected by land-use and climate changes

Fine-Scale Plant Richness Mapping of the Andean Páramo According to Macroclimate

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