Ecohydrological drivers of Neotropical vegetation in montane ecosystems

Abstract

Montane ecosystems are known for their high numbers of endemic species, unique climate conditions, and wide variety of ecosystem services such as water supply and carbon storage. Although many ecohydrological and climatic studies of montane environments have been carried out in temperate and boreal regions, few have been done in Neotropical regions. Hence, the objective of this review is to synthesize the existing literature on the main factors (biotic and abiotic) that influence vegetation distribution, functional traits, and ecohydrological processes and feedbacks in tropical montane ecosystems and to identify key knowledge gaps. Most of the literature used includes work conducted in Neotropical montane rainforests, cloud forests, and grass/scrublands (e.g., páramos, punas, and campos de altitude/rupestres). Fog is a major climatic attribute in tropical montane habitats. We found that fog regimes (frequency and intensity of fog events) influence both water inputs (i.e., canopy interception and foliar water uptake) and outputs (evapotranspiration) and represent an important driver of local species composition, dominance of plant functional types, and ecological functioning. The stability and conservation of tropical montane ecosystems depends on such ecohydrological fluxes, which are sensitive to increases in air temperature and changing precipitation and fog regimes. Furthermore, to better inform effective conservation and restoration strategies, more work is needed to elucidate how key ecohydrological processes are affected by land use conversion to agriculture and pasture lands, as human activities influence the water budgets in Neotropical montane watersheds not only at regional‐scales but also globally.

Moisture transport and seasonal variations in the stable isotopic composition of rainfall in Central American and Andean Páramo during El Niño conditions (2015–2016)

“…(b) Map of distribution of Páramo vegetation in Central America and the northern Andes. Dots show the geographic location of Páramo research sites reported by Aparecido et al, …”

Patterns in Soil Chemical Weathering Related to Topographic Gradients and Vegetation Structure in a High Andean Tropical Ecosystem

“…In the northern Andes, the alpine tundra or so-called páramo ecosystem encompasses a vegetation belt between the continuous forest line and the perpetual snow line, at elevations ranging from 3,000 to 4,500 m above sea level (Ramsay & Oxley, 1997;Sarmiento et al, 2003). In these high-altitude ecosystems, the climate is generally cold and humid throughout the year accompanied with constant night frosts, intense solar radiation, and high relative humidity (Aparecido et al, 2018;Buytaert et al, 2011). Precipitation is highly variable and characterized by continuous moisture in the form of rain, clouds, and fog.…”

Effect of land cover and hydro‐meteorological controls on soil water DOC concentrations in a high‐elevation tropical environment

“…Tropical montane ecosystems provide a variety of ecosystem services for downstream populations in the region (Aparecido et al, ). From these services, the provisioning of high‐quality water and carbon sequestration capacities of tropical ecosystems are among the most important (Hamel et al, ; Wright et al, ).…”