VegPáramo, a flora and vegetation database for the Andean páramo (original) (raw)
Related papers
Plant diversity and vegetation of the Andean Páramo
2015
The paramo is a high mountain ecosystem that includes all natural and semi-natural habitats located between the montane treeline and the permanent snowline in the humid Northern Andes. Given its recent origin and continental insularity among tropical lowlands, the paramo evolved as a biodiversity hotspot, with a vascular flora of more than 3400 species and high endemism. Moreover, the paramo provides many ecosystem services for human populations, essentially water supply and carbon storage. Anthropogenic activities, mostly agriculture and burning-grazing practices, as well as climate change are major threats for the paramo?s ecological integrity. Consequently, further scientific research and conservation strategies must be oriented towards this unique region. Botanical and ecological knowledge on the paramo is extensive but geographically heterogeneous. Moreover, most research studies and management strategies are carried out at local to national scale and given the vast extension o...
Vegetation databases for the 21st century - Special Volume, 2012
The Colombian Páramo Vegetation Database (CPVD; GIVD ID SA-CO-001) originates from the rush of phytosociological studies developed during the second half of the last century. The efforts of Spanish, Dutch and Colombian botanists have allowed almost the entire territory of the country where this natural region (páramo) is present to be covered. The database currently has records of approximately 1,000 plots representing at least 327 different physiognomic types such as shrubs, Espeletia stem rosettes and bunchgrasses established in localities of the three Andean Cordilleras and in the Caribbean massifs, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and Serranía de Perijá. The Eastern Cordillera, which is the most explored mountain range, contains the highest diversity and richness in vegetation types. The construction of the database has allowed us to start the delimitation and syntaxonomical classification of vegetation units, as can be seen in the most recent phytosociological treatments of the páramo vegetation of the Western Cordillera and the massifs of the Caribbean region. The database provides information for programs on conservation of associated flora and fauna species and restoration – recovery of vegetation types under imminent risk due to habitat loss. Also relevant are its applications in spatial delimitation of conservation reserves, development of thematic cartography, and precise definition of altitudinal limits of the páramo region for land use purposes.
Phytoregionalisation of the Andean páramo
PeerJ, 2018
The páramo is a high-elevation biogeographical province in the northern Andes, known for its great biodiversity and ecosystem services. Because there have been very few biogeographic studies encompassing the entire province to date, this study aimed at conducting a phytogeographical regionalisation of the páramo. Specifically, (1) clustering analyses were conducted to identify the main phytogeographical units in the three altitudinal belts: sub-páramo, mid-páramo and super-páramo, and examine their diagnostic flora, (2) an ordination complemented the geo-climatic characterization of the obtained units and (3) a hierarchical classification transformation was obtained to evaluate the relationships between units. The study area included the entire Andean páramo range in northern Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. The analyses were based on 1,647 phytosociological plots from the database. The K-means non-hierarchical clustering technique was used to obtain clusters identifiable as p...
Diversity of zonal paramo plant communities in Ecuador
Diversity and Distributions, 2001
Patterns of vascular plant species diversity in high-altitude Ecuadorian ecosystems ('páramos') are examined. Data from two independent surveys were used: the first from 12 different locations and 192 samples, the other from 18 locations and 243 samples. These surveys included 348 and 284 species, respectively. The data confirmed the occurrence of two main zones in terms of vascular plant species diversity. The grass páramo and superpáramo were distinguished by differences in plant cover, species richness, αdiversity and β -diversity. The transition between these two zones begins at around 4000 m. Grass páramo samples comprised more species but the strong dominance of tussock grasses resulted in low equitability compared with the superpáramo, where safe sites for plant survival are limited and the environment does not permit continuous grass cover. Turnover of species across the altitudinal gradient is higher in the grass páramo than in the superpáramo. This is due largely to agricultural fires at lower altitudes, which create a fine-scale mosaic of burned patches that enhances variability at this scale. Despite the loss of equitability, intermediate levels of fire disturbance appear to promote species richness within the samples. It is suggested that the complex patterns of páramo diversity in the Ecuadorian Andes are largely the outcome of three interrelated factors: altitude, disturbance and the availability of safe sites at the highest altitudes.
VegAndes: the vegetation database for the Latin American highlands
Vegetation Classification and Survey, 2022
In the era of Big Data, Latin American countries and biomes remain underrepresented. To remediate this issue, promoting repositories for biodiversity data focused on Latin America is a main priority. VegAndes-Dpt the vegetation database for the Latin American highlands (GIVD: SA-00-005), is a novel dataset for georeferenced and standardized information on vascular pants in the region. The database compiles 5,340 vegetation plots sampled above the montane treeline and below the permanent snowline in 11 Latin American countries and spanning over seven decades. VegAndes currently encompasses 5,804 taxon names, corresponding to 3,858 accepted names, as well as 136 syntaxon names. The database is nested within a scientific consortium of Latin American experts on highland vegetation and piloted from the University of the Andes (Colombia). Because the VegAndes data can support multi-scale studies in botany, ecology and biogeography, the database makes an essential contribution to biodiversity research and management perspectives in Latin America.
Fine-Scale Plant Richness Mapping of the Andean Páramo According to Macroclimate
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2019
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.
Analysis of a virgin páramo plant community on Volcán Sumaco, Ecuador
Nordic Journal of Botany, 1983
During the first biological expedition from P. Universidad Cat6lica del Ecuador to Volcan Sumaco, Ecuador (1979), a virgin pftramo plant community was studied. The investigated area was situated above the timberline at an altitude of approximately 3650 m. Analysis of the composition of the vegetation was performed according to the methods of Raunkiaer and Hult-Sernander-DuRietz. Along with the vegetation analysis, soil samples were taken. The results obtained support the hypothesis that the paramo of Sumaco is very young, representing an early stage in paramo plant succession. Upon investigation, the paramo plant community was found to be dominated by bryophytes, especially liverworts, and low shrubby plants. Blechnum loxense tree-ferns and over-disperged Cortaderia nitida tussocks were conspicuous features. The floristic composition shows many similarities with descriptions of pioneer communities from other parts of the N Andes. Most taxa found on Sumaco have dispersal means facilitating long-distance dispersal. The data from Sumaco are especially interesting since the vegetation is not disturbed by cattle grazing or any form of regular human activity. This is contribution no. 32 to the AAU-Ecuador project.