142 Results Found

High-Andean wetlands are critical ecosystems for water regulation and carbon storage. This study analyzes the impact of climate variability on vegetation dynamics in eight wetlands located in the Estero Ortiga sub-basin, within the Los Nogales Nature...

The Ichubamba Yasepan wetlands, in the Andean páramos of Ecuador, suffer heavy metal contamination due to anthropogenic activities and volcanic ash from Sangay, impacting biodiversity and ecosystem services. This quasi-experimental study evalu...

Monitoring land cover changes in protected areas is crucial to control the conservation efficiency of biodiversity and natural ecosystem conditions, especially in Ecuador, one of the most megadiverse countries in the world. Therefore, the purpose of...

Sustainable river management requires a thorough understanding of the response of aquatic biota to riverine microhabitat variability. The purpose of this study was to assess macroinvertebrate hydraulic-habitat suitability in Ecuadorian Andean rivers...

Grazing and over-exploitation can severely degrade soil in native forests. Considering that productivity in ecosystems is related to soil organic matter (SOM) content and quality, the objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the influence of d...

The study investigated the diversity and ecology of Myxomycetes (Amoebozoa) along a vegetation gradient in the Cuzco department, Peru, spanning altitudes from 2500 to 4700 m. Field collections were carried out at six sites distributed across three di...

Andean berry (Vaccinium meridionale Swartz) is a species of berry mostly exclusive to the Andean ecosystems, mainly present in Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, and Jamaica, where it grows between 2000 and 3000 m.a.s.l. Although most of the fruit is harvest...

The high Andean páramos (AnP) are unique ecosystems that harbor high biodiversity and provide important ecosystem services, such as water supply and regulation, as well as carbon sequestration. In southern Ecuador, this ecosystem is threatened...

The understanding of relationships between ecosystem services and the appropriate spatial scales for their analysis and characterization represent opportunities for sustainable land management. Bundles have appeared as an integrated method to assess...

Polylepis woodlands, endemic to the Andean Mountains, are critical for biodiversity and ecosystem services but face threats from anthropogenic disturbances and climate change. This study employed sonic tomography (ST) to assess the structural integri...

Mine tailings are produced by mining activities and contain diverse heavy metal ions, which cause environmental problems and have negative impacts on ecosystems. Different microorganisms, including yeasts, play important roles in the absorption and/o...

This study evaluated the physicochemical characteristics, organic matter content, and heavy metal accumulation in the sediments of four Andean lakes in central Ecuador, considering their trophic states and protection status. A total of 96 sediment sa...

The water of high Andean lakes is strongly affected by anthropic activities. However, due to its complexity this ecosystem is poorly researched. This study analyzes water quality using Sentinel-2 (S2) images in high Andean lakes with apparent differe...

High Andean ecosystems face increasing pressures that threaten the sustainability of rural livelihoods, prompting communities to demand culturally appropriate governance responses. This study examines the structure of environmental concern in two rur...

Epiphytic organisms are characteristic elements of the Andean dry forest, playing a crucial role in ecosystem diversity and functionality, but they are threatened by deforestation-related factors. The diversity of epiphytic lichens and bryophytes was...

High-Andean Creole cattle represent a genetic resource with significant adaptive value in high-altitude ecosystems. In this study, 151 Creole cows from the provinces of Canas and Quispicanchis (Cusco, Peru) were evaluated to characterize their morpho...

The Ecuadorian Tropical Andes serve as vital biodiversity hotspots, crucial for hosting and preserving unique endemic species. While numerous taxonomic groups within these hotspots have been extensively studied, microalgae remain relatively unknown....

Forest ecosystem services are critical for maintaining ecological balance and supporting human well-being from different perspectives. However, rapid land use changes driven by agricultural expansion, urbanization, and industrial activities have sign...

This work reports the first survey of Phytophthora diversity in the forests soils of Andean Patagonia. It also discusses the role of anthropogenic impact on Phytophthora distribution inferred from the findings on Phytophthora diversity and on the dis...

The growing deforestation of tropical forests requires the implementation of restoration actions capable of assisting the recovery of biodiversity and the functioning of these ecosystems. This research aimed to identify the environmental factors that...

Juglans neotropica Diels, classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, plays a crucial role in the resilience of Andean montane forests in southern Ecuador—a megadiverse region encompassing coastal, Andean, and Amazonian ecosystems. This stud...

Understanding species composition and forest dynamics is essential for predicting biomass productivity and informing conservation in tropical montane ecosystems. We evaluated floristic, demographic, and biomass changes in eighteen 0.1 ha permanent pl...

Paramo ecosystems are tropical alpine grasslands, located above 3000 m.a.s.l. in the Andean mountain range. Their unique vegetation and soil characteristics, in combination with low temperature and abundant precipitation, create the most advantageous...

Identifying the SOC levels and revealing the potential of SOC storage of ecosystems difficult to sample and study are necessary contributions to the understanding of the global reserves of SOC. Wetlands store large amounts of SOC within their soils....

The uncontrolled spread of fire can have huge effects on ecosystems. In Ecuador, in 2022, wildfires caused a loss of 6566.66 hectares of vegetation cover. Ibarra is an Andean canton that has also been exposed to wildfires and their effects. The aim o...

Due to its tropical location, chains of mountains, inter-Andean valleys, Amazon basin area, eastern plains and shores on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Colombia has many ecosystems and the second largest plant biodiversity in the world. Many p...

Changes experienced in temperature, precipitation, demography and land coverage are the main themes studied in northwestern Patagonia, Argentina, which includes part of Neuquén, Río Negro and Chubut provinces. The precipitation shows important intera...

This study examines the relationships among motivation, satisfaction, place attachment, and revisit intention in the context of ecotourism in the Ayabaca Moorlands, a biodiverse Andean ecosystem of high cultural significance in northern Peru. Using a...

The bofedales are high Andean ecosystems of great socioeconomic and ecological importance. The Chimborazo Fauna Production Reserve has 15 bofedales in its jurisdiction, located in the provinces of Chimborazo, Bolívar, and Tungurahua. The objec...

At 47° S in Argentine Patagonia, the interaction between the Southern Westerly Winds (SWW) and the Andean barrier generates a steep climatic gradient, providing an ideal setting to evaluate Holocene vegetation responses. This study focuses on the...

Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is crucial in aquatic ecosystems, influencing light penetration and biogeochemical processes. This study investigates the CDOM variability in seven oligotrophic lakes of North Andean Patagonia using Landsa...

The conservation of ecosystems is essential for ensuring natural resources like water, a key ecosystem service sustaining human activities. However, its effect on human well-being remains uncertain. This study explores links between water provision,...

Chile holds ~50% of temperate forests in the Southern Hemisphere, thus constituting a genetic–ecological heritage. However, intense anthropogenic pressures have been inducing distinct forest structural-regeneration patterns. Accordingly, we eva...

The invasion of exotic plants threatens biodiversity, affecting ecosystem services and ecological processes in native ecosystems. Road construction creates new environments and contributes to the introduction and spread of exotic and invasive plants....

The Andean-Amazonian landscape has been universally recognized for its wide biodiversity, and is considered as global repository of ecosystem services. However, the severe loss of forest cover and rapid reduction of the timber species seriously threa...

Amphibians face a global conservation crisis, driven largely by habitat degradation. Effective and practical strategies for habitat restoration are urgently needed, particularly for Critically Endangered species in human-impacted ecosystems. Telmatob...

Tropical Andean glaciers are retreating rapidly, with possible consequences for trophic structure and ecosystem processes in high Andean meltwater streams. Here, we measured the environmental characteristics, quantified pools of particulate organic m...

Wildfires represent an increasing threat to ecosystems and communities, driven by climate change, fuel dynamics, and human activities. In Ambato, Ecuador, a city in the Andean highlands, these risks are exacerbated by prolonged droughts, vegetation d...

Tropical high-altitude lakes are vital freshwater reservoirs in the Andean regions. They are heavily threatened by human activities that may alter their functioning and hamper the provisioning of key ecosystem services such as water supply. Despite t...

Ecosystem services have been steadily incorporated into policy and planning, particularly for conservation. While biophysical and economic values are often part of ecosystems assessments, integrating participatory approaches with these valuation tool...

Most Andean lakes and lagoons are used as reservoirs to manage hydropower generation and cropland irrigation, which, in turn, alters river flow patterns through processes of storage and discharge. The Carhuacocha and Vichecocha lagoons, fed by glacie...

Habitat fragmentation and loss seriously threaten Ceroxylon palms, a key and vulnerable species in Andean forests. Given the need for efficient tools for their monitoring and conservation, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of deep learni...

Natural restoration of ecosystems includes the restoration of plant-microbial associations; however, few studies had documented those changes in tropical ecosystems. With the aim to contribute to understand soil microbial changes in a natural regrowt...

Introduction: This study focuses on the central mountain region of the Peruvian Andes, particularly its western slopes, high-altitude areas, and inter-Andean valleys situated above 3000 m.a.s.l. Despite its ecological importance, the region remains u...

The sustainable management of natural reserves is increasingly prioritized within the global tourism sector, especially in fragile ecosystems like the Santurbán Moorland in Colombia. As a high-altitude Andean ecosystem providing essential water resou...

Osorno volcano (41.1° S, 72° W) is located in the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone. The volcano lies within a national park as part of the protected areas system. This setting provides an opportunity to compare soil microbial communities between...

Hydrothermal systems are ideal to understand how microbial communities cope with challenging conditions. Lirima, our study site, is a polyextreme, high-altitude, hydrothermal ecosystem located in the Chilean Andean highlands. Herein, we analyze the b...

Land cover in mountainous regions is shaped by a complex web of stressors arising from natural and anthropogenic processes. The co-design process implemented with regional stakeholders in this study highlighted persistent data gaps and the need for l...

The high-Andean vegetation ecosystems of the Bombón Plateau in Peru face increasing degradation due to aggressive anthropogenic land use and the climate change scenario. The lack of historical degradation evolution information makes implementi...

This study examined the changes in tussock grass greenness over 18 years (2001–2018) using NDVI data from 10 key areas of the Páramo ecosystem in the Ecuadorian Andes. In addition, the study investigated the influence of hydrometeorologi...