Environmental changes in biodiversity hotspot ecosystems of
South Ecuador: RESPonse and feedback effECTs (FOR2730)

Abstract:

This report examines the impact of climate changes and variations in land use based on water samples taken from the alpine grassland ecosystem Páramo in the South of Ecuador. For this purpose, two monitoring points were identified, which hold a different level of anthropogenic influences. Predominantly, the Virgin area exists of natural Páramo. In contrast, the area of Chirimachay is by far more versatile since its components are natural Páramo, nature forest, livestock as well as trout farming. In order to analyse the climate in a diurnal and seasonal cycle, date of temperature and precip-itation has been evaluated. For the purpose of this report, fluxes of nitrogen-nitrate (N-NO3), chemical and biochemical oxygen demand (COD / BOD) and turbidity were analysed. In order to examine the fluxes, concentrations of the mentioned parameters were measured in a five minutes routine in the first step. Afterwards, they were multiplied with current discharge data. Analysis of the data does not illustrate a correlation between nutrient fluxes and air temperature. In terms of precipitation, however, it was possible to identify a relation to COB and BOD (given R=0,829 each in Chirimachay area) by using a linear correlation matrix. Additionally, in the Chirimachay area, evidence for a relation between precipitation and turbidity was found. Even though there is no linear correlation between N-NO3 and precipitation, it is still possible that there is another relation based on the characteristics of moving in soil during different environ-mental conditions. Furthermore, land use has different effects on each parameter. By using scatter plots and statis-tical tests it was possible to analyse the extent of differences in fluxes due to the specific land use. Therefore, N-NO3 fluxes are not influenced while COD, BOD, and on a minor scale, tur-bidity, are correlating to each other.

Abstract:

Tank bromeliads are common epiphytic plants throughout neotropical forests that store signi?cant amounts of water in phytotelmata (tanks) formed by highly modi?ed leafs. Methanogenic archaea in these tanks have recently been identi?ed as a signi?cant source of atmospheric methane. We address the effects of environmental drivers (temperature, tank water content, sodium phosphate [P], and urea [N] addition) on methane production in anaerobically incubated bromeliad slurry and emissions from intact bromeliad tanks in montane Ecuador. N addition ? 1 mg g
1 had a signi?cantly positive effect on headspace methane concentrations in incubation jars while P addition did not affect methane production at any dosage (? 1 mg g
1 ). Tank bromeliads (Tillandsia complanata) cultivated in situ showed signi?cantly increased ef?uxes of methane in response to the addition of 26 mg N addition per tank but not to lower dosage of N or any dosage of P (? 5.2 mg plant
1 ). There was no signi?cant interaction between N and P addition. The brevity of the stimulatory effect of N addition on plant methane ef?uxes (1–2 days) points at N competition by other microorganisms or bromeliads. Methane ef?ux from plants closely followed within-day temperature ?uctuations over 24 h cycles, yet the dependency of temperature was not exponential as typical for terrestrial wetlands but instead linear. In simulated drought, methane emission from bromeliad tanks was maintained with minimum amounts of water and regained after a short lag phase of approximately 24 h. Our results suggest that methanogens in bromeliads are primarily limited by N and that direct effects of global change (increasing temperature and seasonality, remote fertilization) on bromeliad methane emissions are of moderate scale.