Mapping and spatial characterization of Argentine High Andean peatbogs

Abstract

Peatbogs are the most productive and biodiversity rich ecosystems of high dry Puna region, and provide essential ecosystems services to local inhabitants. Despite their ecological and economic importance, the geographic patterns and distribution of peatbogs as well the dynamic of this system are barely known. In this work we (1) identified and mapped subtropical Argentine High Andean peatbogs based in a supervised classification of Landsat images, and a posteriori spatial processing to define functional units; (2) used such classification to characterize the whole Argentina Puna region (14.3 million hectares) in terms of their geographic patterns of peatbogs; and (3) characterized the region's sub-watersheds according to their peatbogs density and geographic characteristics. The post-process map reports a total area of peatbogs of 94427.55 ha (0.66 % of total study area) with 10,428 polygons. The majority of peatbogs are small or median (i.e., 21.8 % of total area included \10 ha, while 24.5 % of total area are peatbogs from 10 to 50 ha), but only two peatbogs with [10,000 ha represent 18 % of total area. Peatbogs density is spatially heterogeneous, with much higher density in the north and central east of the study area. Subwatershed can be grouped into six main groups according to the percentage of peatbogs cover, mean size of peatbogs and altitude. The combination of basic information, such as map of peatbogs cover with spatial patterns characterization, is a priority input for the conservation planning of this extensive and valuable ecosystem, and to ongoing land use planning initiatives.

Patrones espaciales en comunidades de macroinvertebrados acuáticos de la Puna Argentina

“…1, Cuadro 1). Para hacer una caracterización a escala de paisaje, Izquierdo et al, (2015) realizaron un mapeo regional de vegas de Puna y Altos Andes de Argentina del cual se obtuvo localización exacta (longitud y latitud) y área de cada vega. En base a esta información, se estimó, para cada una, la temperatura media anual y precipitación total anual a partir de worldclim (Hijmans, Cameron, Parra, Jones, & Jarvis, 2005) (Cuadro 1).…”

“…Aunque representan aproximadamente sólo el 0.66% de la superficie total de Argentina, las vegas de alta montaña constituyen unidades funcionales claves en las regiones puneñas y altoandinas (Izquierdo, Foguet, & Grau, 2015), dado que concentran el mayor porcentaje de la biodiversidad de estas ecorregiones y de ellas depende fuertemente la regulación de los ciclos hidroló-gicos, los flujos de carbono, y la provisión de recursos para los grandes herbívoros nativos y exóticos (Halloy, 1991;Seimon et al, 2007); por lo que son consideradas unidades prioritarias de conservación.…”

Forged Under the Sun: Life and Art of Extremophiles from Andean Lakes

“…In fact, the Atacama area is considered hyperarid with a mean annual precipitation value of 1 mm per year while the High Andes and Puna present arid to semiarid conditions (7,(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39). In spite of the scarce precipitation regime, wetlands (shallow lakes, peatbogs and salt flats) are widespread in these altitudes (40), which, for this review, will be herein referred to as high-altitude Andean lakes (HAAL).…”

A Multiscale Productivity Assessment of High Andean Peatlands across the Chilean Altiplano Using 31 Years of Landsat Imagery

“…This is especially true in semiarid regions such as the Central Andes Altiplano, where peatlands play important hydrological and ecosystemic roles [15,16] and are highly vulnerable to the projected changes in the regional hydroclimate [17]. The demonstrated capability to map these peatlands in detail [18], and to use satellite-based vegetation indices as indicators of their primary productivity [19][20][21], allows us to develop regional-scale studies of the Altiplano peatlands utilizing a fine-scale spatiotemporal remote sensing approach.…”