Publications
Found 866 publication(s)
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Castro, L.M. (2017): Economic approaches to sustainable land use in Ecuador - Compensation payments and diversification on areas of profitable intensive farming Institute of Forest Management, Technische Universität München, phd thesis
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Economic approaches based on the probabilistic framework were applied to support land use management in Ecuador. Compensations to prevent further land conversion resulted lower when a concave utility function was used. Diversification applied to risky conventional farming showed that sustainable options are suited for portfolios if correlation between returns is kept low; in every case at least two options constituted the optimal combinations. Thus, despite limitations of bio-economic models, they constitute a reliable tool for normative orientations at the farm level.
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Keywords: |
land use |
agriculture |
Economics |
socio-economic modelling |
Fabian, T.; Velescu, A.; Camenzind, T.; Wilcke, W. & Rillig, M.C. (2017-04-09). Sodium in a tropical montane forest in South Ecuador: demand of phyllosphere microorganisms and effects on decomposition. Presented at Annual conference of the German society for soil science (DBG), Göttingen, Germany.
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Recent studies raise the hypothesis that Na shortage restricts decomposition and affects the carbon cycle in tropical forests. When Na concentrations in soils are low and the stands are far off-coast, they do not receive substantial Na inputs from the atmosphere. Since terrestrial plants have low concentrations of Na, which is not considered as an essential element, the demand of soil fauna may not be covered. Yet, in contrast to animals, little is known of Na demands of fungi and phyllosphere microorganisms.
We present results from a study on Na limitation in a montane forest ecosystem in South Ecuador, which is located on the eastern cordillera of the Andes. We tested the hypotheses that (1) the study area is characterized by low Na concentrations because of low deposition rates with incident precipitation (wind directions mainly from the Amazonian Basin), (2) decomposition processes are limited by fauna and fungal Na restrictions and (3) Na is retained in the canopy because of Na limitation of microorganisms in phyllosphere.
Since 1998, we measure Na fluxes in rainfall, throughfall, stemflow, litter leachate, litterfall and organic layer in a microcatchment under an undisturbed lower montane rainforest. Results reveal comparatively low Na concentrations in the ecosystem and similar Na concentrations in throughfall and stemflow. Since Na fluxes are lower with throughfall than with incident rainfall, we conclude that Na is retained in the canopy.
To explore the role of the phyllosphere in Na retention we sampled leaves covered by phyllosphere microorganisms and leaves without phyllosphere cover from several tree species, which were sprayed with a NaCl solution containing 0.5 mg L-1 Na, corresponding to the Na concentration in incident rainfall in our study area.
Additionally, responses of litter decomposition to Na additions and the involved interaction of soil fungi and fauna were tested in a litterbag experiment at two sites (1000 and 2000 m a.s.l.). Results revealed enhanced decomposition rates following Na additions, though only in the presence of soil fauna.
These results might have future ecosystem implications, since our time series showed that total Na deposition decreased within the past 15 years from ca. 40 kg ha-1 a-1 to 10 kg ha-1 a-1, suggesting a potential role of Na in regulating ecosystem processes.
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Keywords: |
decomposition |
neotropical mountain rain forest |
phyllosphere |
sodium limitation |
Báez, S. & Homeier, J. (2018): Functional traits determine tree growth and ecosystem productivity of a tropical montane forest: Insights from a long-term nutrient manipulation experiment. Global Change Biology 24(1), 399-409.
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DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13905
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Trait response-effects are critical to forecast community structure and biomass production in highly diverse tropical forests. Ecological theory and few observation studies indicate that trees with acquisitive functional traits would respond more strongly to higher resource availability than those with conservative traits. We assessed how long-term tree growth in experimental nutrient addition plots (N, P and N+P) varied as a function of morphological traits, tree size and species identity. We also evaluated how trait-based responses affected stand scale biomass production considering the community structure. We found that tree growth depended on interactions between functional traits and the type or combination of nutrients added. Common species with acquisitive functional traits responded more strongly to nutrient addition, mainly to N+P. Phosphorous enhanced the growth rates of species with acquisitive and conservative traits, had mostly positive effects on common species and neutral or negative effects in rare species. Moreover, trees receiving N+P grew faster irrespective of their initial size relative to control or to other treatment plots. Finally, species responses were highly idiosyncratic suggesting that community processes including competition and niche dimensionality may be altered under increased resource availability. We found no statistically significant effects of nutrient additions on aboveground biomass productivity because acquisitive species had a limited potential to increase their biomass, possibly due to their generally lower wood density. In contrast, P addition increased the growth rates of species characterized by more conservative resource strategies (with higher wood density) that were poorly represented in the plant community. We provide the first long-term experimental evidence that trait-based responses, community structure, and community processes modulate the effects of increased nutrient availability on biomass productivity in a tropical forest.
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Keywords: |
NUMEX |
functional traits |
experimental nutrient addition |
Correa, A.; Windhorst, D.; Tetzlaff, D.; Crespo, P.; Celleri, R.; Feyen, J. & Breuer, L. (2017): Temporal dynamics in dominant runoff sources and flow paths in the Andean Páramo. Water Resources Research 53(8), 5998-6017.
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DOI: 10.1002/2016WR020187
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Abstract:
Abstract:
The relative importance of catchment's water provenance and flow paths varies in space and time, complicating the conceptualization of the rainfall-runoff responses. We assessed the temporal dynamics in source areas, flow paths, and age by End Member Mixing Analysis (EMMA), hydrograph separation, and Inverse Transit Time Proxies (ITTPs) estimation within a headwater catchment in the Ecuadorian Andes. Twenty-two solutes, stable isotopes, pH, and electrical conductivity from a stream and 12 potential sources were analyzed. Four end-members were required to satisfactorily represent the hydrological system, i.e., rainfall, spring water, and water from the bottom layers of Histosols and Andosols. Water from Histosols in and near the riparian zone was the highest source contributor to runoff throughout the year (39% for the drier season, 45% for the wetter season), highlighting the importance of the water that is stored in the riparian zone. Spring water contributions to streamflow tripled during the drier season, as evidenced by geochemical signatures that are consistent with deeper flow paths rather than shallow interflow through Andosols. Rainfall exhibited low seasonal variation in this contribution. Hydrograph separation revealed that 94% and 84% is preevent water in the drier and wetter seasons, respectively. From low-flow to high-flow conditions, all the sources increased their contribution except spring water. The relative age of stream water decreased during wetter periods, when the contributing area of the riparian zone expands. The multimethod and multitracer approach enabled to closely study the interchanging importance of flow processes and water source dynamics from an interannual perspective.
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Keywords: |
hydrochemistry |
Paramo |
hydrological processes |
catchment flow dynamics |
Homeier, J.; Báez, S.; Hertel, D. & Leuschner, C. 2017: Tropical Forest Ecosystem Responses to Increasing Nutrient Availability. (Frontiers Media SA).
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Deforestation and land use change have led to a strong reduction of tropical forest cover during the last decades. Climate change will amplify the pressure to the remaining refuges in the next years. In addition, tropical regions are facing increasing atmospheric inputs of nutrients, which will have unknown consequences for the structure and functioning of these systems, no matter if they are within protected areas or not. Even remote areas are expected to receive rising amounts of nutrients.
The effects of higher rates of atmospheric nutrient deposition on the biological diversity and ecosystem functioning of tropical ecosystems are poorly understood and our knowledge of nutrient fluxes and nutrient limitation in tropical forest ecosystems is still limited. Yet, it will be of paramount importance to know the effects of increased nutrient availability to conserve these ecosystems with their biological and functional diversity.
During the last years, research efforts have more and more focused on the understanding of the role of nutrients in tropical ecosystems and several coordinated projects have been established that study the effects of experimental nutrient addition.
This Research Topic combines results from experiments and from observational studies with the aim to review and conclude on our current knowledge on the role of additional nutrients in ecosystems.
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Keywords: |
nutrients |
NUMEX |
nutrient cycle |
Nutrient deposition |
nutrient additions |
Almengor Gonzalez, R. (2017): OBIA: Automated delineation of Pine Plantations from Aerial Imagery in the southern Ecuadorian Paramos Technische Universität München, master thesis
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing are important contributors to Sustainable
Forestry Management Plans. Remote sensing techniques for image interpretation provides the
means to extract valuable information that could be expensive and time-consuming to obtain
through field observations (Franklin et al. 2001).
Spatial Products derived from the interpretation of airborne and satellite borne images feed
Geographic Information Systems to develop strategies and methodologies for resource
management, harvest planning, fire management, map production, and model predictions.
(Yusmah et al. 2015)
This study has three important objectives: to test the feasibility of template matching for the
identification of single pine tree crowns, to conduct a delineation of pine plantations using
relational features and to evaluate how single tree crown size affects the accuracy of the
proposed method.
Templates of single trees were produced in the software eCognition Developer. The sampling
process comprised the random selection of 3000 single pine trees in 7 different test sites (test sites were grouped in 3 categories according to the single tree sizes). A first rule set to detect
single tree crowns was developed in eCognition Developer, using three different template groups (4, 8 and 16 templates). Through an analysis of variance, the number of single tree
crowns detected was compared for the different template groups.
Using a second rule set in eCognition, the template matching algorithm combined with
relational, spectral and contextual information were applied to delineate pine plantation areas.
An accuracy assessment was performed in the test sites for all thematic classes identified.
Finally, an Analysis of Variance evaluated the influence of single tree crown size on the overall
accuracy.
Potential applications and improvements to the proposed methodology for single tree crown detection and plantation delineation are proposed at the end of the document.
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Keywords: |
reforestation |
remote sensing |
pine forest |
Paramo |
Cajas National Park |
orthophotos |
Baumgärtner, M. (2017): Die Entwicklung von Jungpflanzen der Baumarten Cedrela montana, Handroanthus chrysanthus und Juglans neotropica im Gewächshaus Technische Universität München, bachelor thesis
Allgeier, F. (2017): Determination of technological properties of natural wood species from Ecuador Technische Universität München, bachelor thesis
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In this study we performed anatomic, physical-mechanical and chemical measurements on a set of small test samples of 27 wood species from the tropical mountain forest in Ecuador. We determined color and vessel arrangement, wood density (bulk and dry density) and wood moisture content, vessel density and vessel diameter, extractive contents, Young’s modulus ED (parallel and transverse to the grain) and failure strain ?D|| (parallel to the grain). For dry density we found a wide range of 0,25 - 0,95 g/cm-3. Extractive contents were strikingly low (1,44 ± 0,79 Gew.%). The best correlation (R2 = 0,82) exists for ?D|| and dry density. Moreover, it is interesting that the geometric mean of ED values parallel and transverse to the grain strongly correlates with dry density (R2 = 0,74), and especially better than ED values in single directions. The results of this study provide indications for further investigations in this test area. In an outlook we give recommendations regarding the required sample size for future studies allowing statistical analyses of the important wood properties.
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Keywords: |
native species |
wood specific gravity |
wood anatomy |
Giray, K. (2017): Effects of moderate nitrogen and/or phosphorus addition on tree leaf traits in Ecuadorian tropical montane forests University of Goettingen, master thesis
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Ecosystem services, provided from tropical forests, are indispensable for human beings. Coherencies in the system, their networks, drivers and various underlying pathways are not completely understood yet. Elucidation on directions of key nutrients and changes in organisms delivers the opportunity to get an overview about these relations.
Leaf functional traits are one important component to uncover those cascades and organizations. With their fast respond to environmental conditions, changes can be detected. Since, tropical regions suffer from increasing atmospheric inputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), it is a need to investigate these progressions and predict future scenarios. The alarming fact, that these anthropogenic caused input have unknown consequences for the structure and functioning of tropical forests leads to a crucial study topic. Furthermore, questions should be answered if these increased inputs have a comparable influence on different elevations, based on identification the limiting nutrients.
To forecast these impacts the Nutrient Manipulation Experiment (NUMEX) has been conducted since 2008. It gained to show, that Neotropical montane forests respond rapidly to moderate nutrient additions of N (50 kg ha-1 yr-1) and P (10 kg ha-1 yr-1).
Within the present study, the eight most abundant tree species from the NUMEX sites were analyzed to their leaf functional traits from three elevations (altitude above sea level) in an Ecuadorian montane forest. The premontane forest in Bombuscaro (1,000 m) contains the species Clarisia racemosa and Pouteria torta. Further, in San Francisco (2,000 m), Alchornea lojaensis, Graffenrieda emarginata, Hieronyma fendleri, and Myrcia sp., were selected. In Cajanuma (3,000 m), the upper montane forest contains Hedyosmum purpurascens and Weinmannia loxensis.
The fertilization effects were calculated, using a mixed effect model, including study year and treatment as fixed effects and block and individual as random effects.
The results show, that foliar N decrease over the years, whereas, Foliar P conversely increases. Further, the relation of nitrogen and phosphorus (N:P) is decreasing during the study years. Upwards trends for ?15N are best replicated for the San Francisco site. With the leaf trait nutrient resorption efficiency (NuR) for N and P a decline over the study years is proceeding. In addition, leaf area (LA) and specific leaf area (SLA) tend to decrease. In conclusive processes over the study years might be the result of microclimatic events.
The sites differ in that San Francisco and Cajanuma respond more similar in some leaf functional traits, compared to them from Bombuscaro. It can be deduced that changes in the analyzed leaf traits over the last eight years between the sites and species are not significantly different. Summarizing, results represent the emphasis on the considerable influence of nutrient addition with notably changing foliar nutrient and show that the predicted nutrient deposition will probably change the ecosystem dynamics sustained.
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Keywords: |
NUMEX |
fertilization |
foliar N |
foliar P |
species traits |
Elevation gradient |
leaf properties |
Bergmann, A. (2017): Der Einfluss von N und/oder P-Düngung auf die Herbivorie im tropischen Bergregenwald Ecuadors University of Goettingen, master thesis
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Abstract:
Tropical montane forests of the Andes belong to the hotspots of biodiversity. But these nutrient poor ecosystems are simultaneously threatened by increased element inputs of nitrogen and phosphor in nutrient cycles. NUMEX-Projekt simulates the expected nutrient inputs in the for-ests and quantifies the changes of this ecosystem. In line of this study litter samples were collected by littertraps during a working period from February till May 2016. Leaf litter produc-tion, parameters of leaf morphology (leaf area and specific leaf area) and litter nutrients of nitrogen and phosphor were determined. Additionally, the parameters of herbivory (leaf mass loss and leaf area loss) were calculated by measuring holes area. The variation of these pa-rameters along an altitudinal gradient from 1.000 m.a.s.l. to 3.000 m.a.s.l. was investigated. Besides the variation after nitrogen and/or phosphor addition was explored. Furthermore, the extend of nutrients, lost through herbivory, was identified for the stand level. Terminatory the influence of two soil parameters (C/N ratio and Presin) was discussed.
There is a significant influence of altitude (p<0,05) on leaf morphology (leaf area: 1.000 m.a.s.l: 26,4±1,6 cm², 3.000 m.a.s.l: 7,4±1,0 cm², specific leaf area: 1.000 m.a.s.l: 99,7±4,1 cm²·g-1, 3.000 m.a.s.l: 56,1±6,6 cm²·g-1), leaf nutrients of nitrogen (1.000 m.a.s.l: 15,3±0,5 g·kg-1, 3.000 m.a.s.l: 6,6±0,7 g·kg-1) and phosphor (1.000 m.a.s.l: 0,54±0,03 g·kg-1, 3.000 m.a.s.l: 0,25±0,03 g·kg-1) and also on the parameters of herbivory: holes area (1.000 m.a.s.l: 1,8±0,2 cm², 3.000 m.a.s.l: 0,3±0,1 cm²) and leaf area loss (1.000 m.a.s.l: 6,8±0,4 %, 3.000 m.a.s.l: 3,6±0,6 %).
Nutrient addition did not lead to distinct results according to the variation of measured param-eters. NP fertilization had a positive effect on leaf area and P fertilization a positive effect on specific leaf area. Leaf nutrients showed various answers. For this parameter, NP fertilization causes significantly raised nitrogen and phosphor concentrations in litter in each site. Leaf litter production in 1.000 m.a.s.l site significantly decreased through NP fertilization. Referring to herbivory only a little number of significant effects were detected. Holes area increased on 2.000 m.a.s.l site by NP addition while leaf area loss in 1.000 m.a.s.l site – as well as leaf area production – decreased. On stand level, there was no variation of leaf area loss.
Soil parameters have a higher impact on measured parameters on stand level. Specific leaf area and leaf area loss correlate positively with soil C/N of upper mineral soil. Correlations of these parameters with plant available phosphor Presin is negative.
Nutrient losses on stand level decrease with altitude. There was a negative effect of NP addition on nitrogen loss in 1.000 m.a.s.l site and a positive effect of NP addition on phosphor loss in all sites.
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Keywords: |
NUMEX |
fertilization |
foliar N |
foliar P |
herbivory |
Elevation gradient |
Oñate-Valdivieso, F.; Fries, A.; Mendoza, K.; Gonzales-Jaramillo, V.; Pucha Cofrep, F.; Rollenbeck, R. & Bendix, J. (2017): Temporal and spatial analysis of precipitation patterns in an Andean region of southern Ecuador using LAWR weather radar. Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics 129(295), 1-12.
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DOI: 10.1007/s00703-017-0535-8
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Abstract:
Abstract:
This paper focuses on the analysis of precipitation patterns, using a Local Area Weather Radar to collect information about the precipitation distribution in an Andean region of southern Ecuador (cities of Loja, Zamora and Catamayo). 54 representative events were selected to develop daily precipitation maps and to obtain their relevant characteristics, which were related to the topography and the season. The results showed that a strong correlation between the areas covered by precipitation (RA coefficient) and the season exists. In general, humid air masses come from the east (Amazon Basin), but during the main rainy season (December to April), humidity also frequently enters the study region from the west (Pacific Ocean). The rainy season is characterized by convective precipitation, associated with higher evaporation rates during austral summer. The relatively dry season is formed between May and November, but considerable precipitation amounts are registered, too, due to advective moisture transport from the Amazon Basin, a result of the predominant tropical easterlies carrying the humidity up the eastern escarpment of the Andes, generally following the natural course of the drainage systems.
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Keywords: |
Ecuador |
precipitation |
radar |
Bendix, J.; Fries, A.; Zárate, J.; Trachte, K.; Rollenbeck, R.; Pucha Cofrep, F.; Paladines, R.; Palacios, I.; Orellana Alvear, J.; Oñate-Valdivieso, F.; Naranjo, C.; Mendoza, L.; Mejia, D.; Guallpa, M.; Gordillo, F.; Gonzales-Jaramillo, V.; Dobbermann, M.; Celleri, R.; Carrillo, C.; Araque, A. & Achilles, S. (2017): Radarnet Sur – first weather radar network in tropical high mountains. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 98(6), 1235-1254.
Palomeque, X.; Maza, A.; Iñanagua, J.P.; Günter, S.; Hildebrandt, P.; Weber, M. & Stimm, B. (2017): Intraspecific Variability in Seed Quality of Native Tree Species in Mountain Forests in Southern Ecuador: Implications for Forest Restoration. Revista de Ciencias Ambientales (Tropical Journal of Environmental Sciences) 51(2), 52-72.
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DOI: 10.15359/rca.51-2.3
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Uno de los aspectos importantes a considerarse en la producción eficiente de plántulas con fines de restauración es la calidad de semillas y su variabilidad. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar los parámetros de semillas de acuerdo con las reglas del “International Seed Testing Association” entre diferentes árboles madre o individuos de siete especies nativas (Cedrela montana, Morella pubescens, Inga acreana, Tabebuia chrysantha, Ocotea heterochroma, Oreocallis grandiflora y Myrcianthes rhopaloides) en dos bosques de montaña del sur del Ecuador. Estas especies fueron seleccionadas por la importancia ecológica, socioeconómica, y su gran potencial para la restauración. De un total de 35 árboles madre de todas las especies, se colectaron las semillas en sus respectivos periodos de fructificación, y en el laboratorio fueron analizados los siguientes parámetros: pureza, peso, contenido de humedad y germinación; adicionalmente se determinó el coeficiente de velocidad de germinación. Los resultados mostraron una similitud intraespecífica en cada especie para la mayoría de los parámetros; no obstante, el peso presentó alta variabilidad intraespecífica para todas las especies. El parámetro germinación obtuvo diferencias entre individuos para C. montana, T. chrysantha, O. heterochroma y M. rhopaloides. En cuanto a la velocidad de germinación, individuos de especies como O. grandiflora e I. acreana mostraron un alto coeficiente en contraste a los individuos de O. heterochroma y M. pubescens. La información generada en este estudio podría ser el primer paso en la formulación de pautas para la producción masiva de plántulas de especies nativas con fines de restauración.
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Keywords: |
seedlings |
Cedrela montana |
Tabebuia chrysantha |
native species |
tree seeds |
restoration |
germination |
seed quality |
Morella pubescens |
Inga acreana |
Ocotea heterochroma |
Oreocallis grandiflora |
Palomeque, X.; Günter, S.; Siddons, D.; Hildebrandt, P.; Stimm, B.; Aguirre, N.; Arias, R. & Weber, M. (2017): Natural or assisted succession as approach of forest recovery on abandoned lands with different land use history in the Andes of Southern Ecuador. New Forests 1(1), 1-10.
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DOI: 10.1007/s11056-017-9590-8
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Forest recovery on disturbed areas is of special significance in the Ecuadorian Andes, where deforestation is a serious problem. Natural diachronic succession was evaluated on three large plots or sites, differing in their land use and vegetation composition, one is dominated by grass species on an abandoned pasture (Pasture site), the other two are post-fire vegetation dominated by bracken (Bracken site) and various shrubs (Shrub site). Additionally, we assessed the effectiveness of manual removal of competitive herbaceous species to accelerate forest recovery. Monitoring was done in 2003, 2005 and 2007 on 48 subplots of 116 m2 each recording species richness and woody-species density. Results showed that the Pasture site demonstrated a competitive effect of exotic grasses on woody species recruitment with much lower species recruitment and density, suggesting serious inhibition of natural forest regeneration and an unclear successional trajectory. The Bracken and Shrub sites became significantly similar floristically and there is evidence for a marked facilitation of woody plant recruitment correlated with light availability on the ground. Both sites showed characteristics of classic succession, with Shrub showing a higher species richness and density while late-successional species are poorly represented on the Bracken site. However, NMDS ordination using species density showed that the two trajectories may not be converging towards a common ‘‘final state’’. Manual weeding was ineffective for accelerating forest recovery. These results suggest that the main limiting factor for the recruitment of woody species on the Pasture site is strong grass competition and must be addressed before seed availability, while seed availability seems to be theconstraining factor for Bracken and Shrub site development, thus direct seeding or planting may be effective in accelerating forest recovery.
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Keywords: |
succession |
abandoned pasture |
bracken fern |
restoration |
Paulick, S.; Dislich, C.; Homeier, J.; Fischer, R. & Huth, A. (2017): The carbon fluxes in different successional stages: modelling the dynamics of tropical montane forests in South Ecuador. Forest Ecosystems 4, 5.
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DOI: 10.1186/s40663-017-0092-0
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Background:
Tropical forests play an important role in the global carbon (C) cycle. However, tropical montane forests have been studied less than tropical lowland forests, and their role in carbon storage is not well understood. Montane forests are highly endangered due to logging, land-use and climate change. Our objective was to analyse how the carbon balance changes during forest succession.
Methods:
In this study, we used a method to estimate local carbon balances that combined forest inventory data with process-based forest models. We utilised such a forest model to study the carbon balance of a tropical montane forest in South Ecuador, comparing two topographical slope positions (ravines and lower slopes vs upper slopes and ridges).
Results: The simulation results showed that the forest acts as a carbon sink with a maximum net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of 9.3 Mg C?(ha?yr)?1 during its early successional stage (0–100 years). In the late successional stage, the simulated NEE fluctuated around zero and had a variation of 0.77 Mg C?(ha?yr) –1. The simulated variability of the NEE was within the range of the field data. We discovered several forest attributes (e.g., basal area or the relative amount of pioneer trees) that can serve as predictors for NEE for young forest stands (0–100 years) but not for those in the late
successional stage (500–1,000 years). In case of young forest stands these correlations are high, especially between stand basal area and NEE.
Conclusion:
In this study, we used an Ecuadorian study site as an example of how to successfully link a forest model with forest inventory data, for estimating stem-diameter distributions, biomass and aboveground net primary productivity. To conclude, this study shows that process-based forest models can be used to investigate the carbon balance of tropical montane forests. With this model it is possible to find hidden relationships between forest attributes and forest carbon fluxes. These relationships promote a better understanding of the role of tropical montane forests in
the context of global carbon cycle, which in future will become more relevant to a society under global change.
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Keywords: |
succession |
FORMIND |
tropical montane forest |
forest model |
carbon balance |
forest productivity |
Wood, C.R. (2017): Assessing the Use of Biophysical Soil Erosion Models for Evaluating the Costs of Soil Erosion Prevention in South Ecuador Technische Universität München, Institute of Forest Management, master thesis
Silva, B.; Alava Núñez, P.; Strobl, S.; Beck, E. & Bendix, J. (2017): Area-wide evapotranspiration monitoring at the crown level of a tropical mountain rain forest. Remote Sensing of Environment 194, 219–229.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2017.03.023
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Ecosystem water regulation couples energy and water balance, depends on the integrity of the ecosystem, and responds to changes in climate. Changes in tree-water relationships in the biodiversity hotspot of the tropical Andes in southern Ecuador might be potentially observed at the level of individual trees, thus providing an efficient ecosystem monitoring method with applications in forest management and conservation at the tree and landscape levels. In this study, we combine area-average measurements from a laser scintillometer above the forest with optical satellite data at high spatial resolution to obtain area-wide evapotranspiration data. The processing of field data includes the calculation of energy storage in forest biomass and the partitioning of evapotranspiration into transpiration and evaporation. Satellite-based estimates are calibrated by using tower flux measurements and meteorological data within periods of humid and less-humid atmosphere. The annual evapotranspiration was 1316 mm, of which 1086 mm per year corresponds to the forest transpiration at the study site. Average values of 4.7 and 4.1 mm d-1 per tree crown are observed under humid and less-humid atmospheric conditions, respectively, when applying high-resolution area-wide evapotranspiration in individual crown analysis. Approximately 24% of the observed crowns show a positive monthly change in ET, and 51% of the crowns show a significant change in the daily ET, which can be considered sensitive individuals concerning water relationships. The limitations in the area-wide evapotranspiration at the crown level can be explained by considering the spectral responses of the crown individuals. The presented method can be robustly deployed in the ecological monitoring of mountain forests.
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Keywords: |
remote sensing |
Evapotranspiration |
crown scale |
Silva, B.; Álava-Núñez, P.; Strobl, S.; Beck, E. & Bendix, J. (2017): Area-wide evapotranspirationmonitoring at the crown level of a tropical mountain rain forest. Remote Sensing of Environment 194( ), 219-229.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2017.03.023
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Ecosystem water regulation couples energy and water balance, depends on the integrity of the ecosystem, and
responds to changes in climate. Changes in tree-water relationships in the biodiversity hotspot of the tropical
Andes in southern Ecuador might be potentially observed at the level of individual trees, thus providing an ef?-
cient ecosystem monitoring method with applications in forest management and conservation at the tree and
landscape levels. In this study,we combine area-averagemeasurements froma laser scintillometer above the for-
est with optical satellite data at high spatial resolution to obtain area-wide evapotranspiration data. The process-
ing of ?eld data includes the calculation of energy storage in forest biomass and the partitioning of
evapotranspiration into transpiration and evaporation. Satellite-based estimates are calibrated by using tower
?ux measurements and meteorological data within periods of humid and less-humid atmosphere. The annual
evapotranspiration was 1316 mm, of which 1086 mm per year corresponds to the forest transpiration at the
study site. Average values of 4.7 and 4.1 mm d?1
per tree crown are observed under humid and less-humid at-
mospheric conditions, respectively, when applying high-resolution area-wide evapotranspiration in individual
crown analysis. Approximately 24% of the observed crowns show a positive monthly change in ET, and 51% of
the crowns show a signi?cant change in the daily ET, which can be considered sensitive individuals concerning
water relationships. The limitations in the area-wide evapotranspiration at the crown level can be explained
by considering the spectral responses of the crown individuals. The presented method can be robustly deployed
in the ecological monitoring of mountain forests.
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Keywords: |
remote sensing |
Evapotranspiration |
crown scale |
Homeier, J.; Báez, S.; Hertel, D. & Leuschner, C. (2017): Editorial: Tropical forest ecosystem responses to increasing nutrient availability. Frontiers in Earth Science 5, 27.
Wallis, C.; Brehm, G.; Donoso, D.A.; Fiedler, K.; Homeier, J.; Paulsch, D.; Suessenbach, D.; Tiede, Y.; Brandl, R.; Farwig, N. & Bendix, J. (2017): Remote sensing improves prediction of tropical montane species diversity but performance differs among taxa. Ecological Indicators 1(1), 1-10.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.01.022
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Texture information from passive remote sensing images provides surrogates for habitat structure, which is relevant for modeling biodiversity across space and time and for developing effective ecological indicators. However, the applicability of this information might differ among taxa and diversity measures. We compared the ability of indicators developed from texture analysis of remotely sensed images to predict species richness and species turnover of six taxa (trees, pyraloid moths, geometrid moths, arctiinae moths, ants, and birds) in a megadiverse Andean mountain rainforest ecosystem. Partial least-squares regression models were fitted using 12 predictors that characterize the habitat and included three topographical metrics derived from a high-resolution digital elevation model and nine texture metrics derived from very high-resolution multi-spectral orthophotos. We calculated image textures derived from mean, correlation, and entropy statistics within a relatively broad moving window (102 m × 102 m) of the near infra-red band and two vegetation indices. The model performances of species richness were taxon dependent, with the lowest predictive power for arctiinae moths (4%) and the highest for ants (78%). Topographical metrics sufficiently modeled species richness of pyraloid moths and ants, while models for species richness of trees, geometrid moths, and birds benefited from texture metrics. When more complexity was added to the model such as additional texture statistics calculated from a smaller moving window (18 m × 18 m), the predictive power for trees and birds increased significantly from 12% to 22% and 13% to 27%, respectively. Gradients of species turnover, assessed by non-metric two-dimensional scaling (NMDS) of Bray-Curtis dissimilarities, allowed the construction of models with far higher predictability than species richness across all taxonomic groups, with predictability for the first response variable of species turnover ranging from 64% (birds) to 98% (trees) of the explained change in species composition, and predictability for the second response variable of species turnover ranging from 33% (trees) to 74% (pyraloid moths). The two NMDS axes effectively separated compositional change along the elevational gradient, explained by a combination of elevation and texture metrics, from more subtle, local changes in habitat structure surrogated by varying combinations of texture metrics. The application of indicators arising from texture analysis of remote sensing images differed among taxa and diversity measures. However, these habitat indicators improved predictions of species diversity measures of most taxa, and therefore, we highly recommend their use in biodiversity research.
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Keywords: |
moths |
species richness |
species turnover |
mountain rainforest |
tropical trees |
Birds |
ants |
orthophotos |
Timbe, E.; Feyen, J.; Windhorst, D.; Breuer, L.; Crespo, P.; Celleri, R. & Frede, H. (2017): Multicriteria assessment of water dynamics reveals subcatchment variability in a seemingly homogeneous tropical cloud forest catchment. Hydrological Processes 31(7), 1456-1468.
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DOI: 10.1002/hyp.11146
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Abstract:
Abstract:
To improve the current knowledge of the rainfall–runoff phenomena of tropical montane catchments, we explored the usefulness of several hydrological indicators on a nested cloud forest catchment (76.9 km2). The used metrics belong to 5 categories: baseflow mean transit time, physicochemical properties of stream water, land cover, topographic, and hydrometric parameters. We applied diverse statistical techniques for data analysis and to contrast findings. Multiple regression analysis showed that mean transit times of base flow could be efficiently predicted by sodium concentrations (higher during baseflows) and temperatures of stream water, indicating a major influence of geomorphology rather than topographic or land cover characteristics. Principal component analysis revealed that no specific subset of catchment indicators could be identified as prevailing descriptors for all catchments. The agglomerative hierarchical clustering analysis provided concomitant results, implying larger levels of dissimilarity between smaller subcatchments than between larger ones. Overall, results point out an intricate interdependence of diverse processes at surface and subsurface level indicating a high level of heterogeneity. Disregarding heterogeneity of nested or paired catchments could lead to incomplete or misleading conclusions, especially in tropical mountain regions where pronounced spatial and temporal gradients are present.
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Keywords: |
tropical cloud forest |
catchment flow dynamics |
catchment heterogeneity |
mean transit times |
multicriteria assessment |
rainfall–runoff processes |
Butz, P.; Raffelsbauer, V.; Graefe, S.; Peters, T.; Cueva, E.; Hölscher, D. & Bräuning, A. (2016): Tree responses to moisture fluctuations in a neotropical dry forest as potential climate change indicators. Ecological Indicators 1(1), 1-13.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.11.021
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Trees in tropical dry forests (TDFs) have manifold drought coping strategies including succulence of different plant organs, wood anatomical traits and leaf phenology. As water availability to plants is the limiting factor for physiological activity, changes in precipitation patterns are assumed to have strong influences on tree phenology, growth and water turnover. Our objectives were to assess patterns in leaf phenology, radial stem circumference changes and sap flux responses to fluctuating moisture regimes of selected species. Based on these findings we evaluated the potential suitability as indicator species for climate change effects. The study was implemented at different elevational positions in a submontane dry forest of southern Ecuador. Annual rainfall is 600 mm with an eight months dry period; moisture availability slightly increases with altitude because of moist air coming from the Pacific. At three altitudes,we studied the tree species Ceiba trichistandra (leaf deciduous, stem succulent), Eriotheca ruizii (leaf deciduous, root succulent) and Erythrina velutina (leaf deciduous). Reversible stem swelling and shrinking was observed for all three species during the whole study period and at all positions at the altitudinal gradient. However, it was most pronounced and sensitive in the stem succulent C. trichistandra and at the lowest (driest) position. C. trichistandra flushed leaves at dry season intermittent rain events, and from dry to wet season leaf out was earlier, and in this period sap flux was high while stem circumference decreased. Length of the leaved periods of all species increased with altitude. Thus, clear differences among species, topographic positions, radial growth and tree water use patterns are revealed; especially C. trichistandra responded very sensitive to fluctuating moisture regimes with leaf phenology, sap flux and stem diameter variations, and can be regarded as a sensitive indicator for assessing climatic variations.
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Keywords: |
Ecuador |
Phenology |
Elevation gradient |
Sap flux |
Seasonality |
Tree indicator |
Liersch, T. (2017): Effects of elevation and annual climate variations on the decomposition rate in the Ecuadorian Andes Philipps-Universität Marburg, master thesis
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Decomposition is a very important process. It is supporting nutrient cycles and for that reason crucial for the functionality of ecosystems. Various studies have shown that decomposition is driven by abiotic and biotic factors such as climate, seasonal weather conditions (like el Niño), soil organisms and disturbance of forests. In this study, the focus lies on investigating the impact of abiotic factors on the decomposition with a new simplified and standardised method, with tea bags as litterbags. Green tea bags were buried in two years, on different elevations between 1000 m a.s.l. and 3000 m a.s.l. in 500 m steps on disturbed and undisturbed plots in the Ecuadorian Andes. After 21 days in the soil, the decomposition rate were calculated and compared on different elevations and different disturbances in two different years. The disturbance had no effect, because the disturbed plots were fragmented and the study took place in the interior of these fragments; here no edge effects influenced the decomposition rate. As expected, the decomposition rate declined with an increase in elevation, due to changing climate conditions. In the lower, wet and warm elevations, it was faster than in the higher elevation where the climate is wetter but also colder. In the test series from 2015, the decomposition rate was higher in the upper elevations than in 2014, this could be explained by a weather phenomenon called el Niño, which took place in 2015. It leads to a slightly higher temperature and 60% more precipitation than what normally would be expected in 2015. These differences between the two years show the importance of taking seasonal and annual variations into account while investigating decomposition and the sensitivity of this important ecosystem process to changing weather and climate conditions.
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Keywords: |
elevational gradient |
forest degradation |
teabag index |
decomp |
Batke, S. (2017): Elevation shaping foliar C/N-ratio and ant abundance without affecting leaf area loss in pristine and degraded montane rainforests in Ecuador Philipps-Universität Marburg, master thesis
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Climate change and forest degradation are major threats to forest ecosystems. The climatic changes can affect the mineralization rate in soils and therefore change the amount of available nitrogen components for plants. Thus these changes can influence foliar C/N-ratio. Previous studies used an elevation gradient to test the influence of climatic changes on ecosystems, and showed that foliar C/N-ratio is positively correlated with elevation. Changes in foliar C/N-ratio may affect the feeding behavior of insect herbivores and therefore influence leaf area loss (LAL). LAL is used as an indicator of herbivory and therefore may consequently also be related to ant abundance because ants prey on insect herbivores. Ants in return, are also affected by the abiotic
changes with increasing elevation and therefore sensitive to climate change. However, forest degradation is
currently the greater threat to ecosystems.
Degradation can lead to changes in the nutrient uptake of plants and therefore to changes in foliar C/N-ratio. Moreover it can reduce ant
abundance as ants are sensitive to the conversion of forests. We nalyzed the causal effects of abiotic factors (elevation and degradation) on biotic factors (foliar C/N-ratio and ant activityabundance) and the relationships between the biotic factors and LAL with linear mixed-effect models in a path model. We found a significant positive correlation between foliar C/N-ratio and
elevation, and a significant negative correlation between ant activity-abundance and elevation. Foliar carbon-content had a significant negative correlation with degradation. Our results revealed no
significant relationships with LAL, but LAL correlated
negatively with foliar C/N-ratio in the shrub layer. The results of our study point out that foliar C/N-ratio and ant activityabundance
change with elevation and thus respond to climatic changes. Moreover
our results indicate that foliar C/N-ratio can be connected to LAL, but that influences such as the abundance and distribution of insect herbivores along elevation should be examined closely. Our finding that
foliar C/N-ratio, ant activity-abundance and LAL were unaffected by degradation indicates that the studied degraded forests are still suitable habitats for insect herbivores and ants.
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Keywords: |
C/N ratio |
ant |
elevational gradient |
forest degradation |
Ginal, P. (2017): Acoustic indices do not reflect avian diversity in high-diverse tropical rainforests in Ecuador Philipps-Universität Marburg, master thesis
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Biodiversity monitoring is a global need due to environmental degradation and climate change. Birds are
often monitored indicators for environmental health because they are easy assessable, fast reacting species,
which supply important ecosystem services. But conventional biodiversity monitoring can be timeconsuming,
invasive
and
it
often
needs
trained
specialists,
thus
appropriate
alternatives,
especially
for
largescale
assessments,
like
acoustic
monitoring
are
needed.
While
numerous
acoustic
indices
were
generated
no
studies
occur
about
their
ability
to
reflect
conventional
alpha-diversity
measures
such
as
species
richness,
abundance,
diversity or evenness under complex conditions like a gradient of elevation and degradation.
We choose bird communities along an elevation gradient in natural and degraded rainforests in a highdiverse
region in the Ecuadorian Andes to investigate the association among five conventional (total
abundance, species richness, Shannon Index, evenness, Gini Index) and three acoustic (Acoustic Diversity
Index [ADI], Bioacoustic Index [BI], Acoustic Evenness Index [AEI]) alpha-diversity measures. Furthermore,
we investigated the influence of higher resolutions (FFT window size, frequency band size) on the acoustic
indices. Further, we tested a new acoustic beta-diversity measure. With help of multivariate analyzes we
found acoustic diversity measures were not significantly correlated with conventional diversity measures in
high-diverse rainforests. The acoustic indices were correlated between another. The values of the acoustic
indices increased with higher resolutions and were strongly positively correlated with their next higher
resolution. The NMDS of the conventionally assessed bird communities resulted an elevation gradient and a
distinct separation between degraded and natural forest communities. The NMDS of the acoustically
assessed bird communities resulted no distinct gradients. The conventional and acoustic alpha-diversity
measures were not significantly associated with the elevation or habitat type. ADI, BI and AEI seem not
appropriate to reflect conventional diversity measures in high-diverse ecosystems, but BI can reflect avian
abundance in less diverse ecosystems. Avian acoustic activity was driven by noisy species and not by
species richness or abundance. Higher resolutions of the acoustic indices did not resolute acoustic activity
more exactly in this case, thus for communities where birds with long or complex calls (relevant for BI) or
narrow frequency ranges (relevant for ADI/AEI) are not dominating the acoustic activity the default resolutions of the acoustic indices seem sufficient. Acoustic beta-diversity assessment seems problematic
because the analyzes of frequencies does not reflect species turnover among communities due to the
reason that several species can occupy the same frequencies with their calls.
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Keywords: |
beta diversity |
species richness |
abundance |
Alpha diversity |
Shannon diversity |
soundscape |
Acoustic Diversity Index |
Bioacustic Index |
Acoustic Evenness Index |
Gini Index |
resolution |
Tiede, Y.; Schlautmann, J.; Donoso, D.A.; Wallis, C.; Bendix, J.; Brandl, R. & Farwig, N. (2017): Ants as indicators of environmental change and ecosystem processes. Ecological indicators 1(1), 1-6.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.01.029
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Environmental stressors and changes in land use have led to rapid and dramatic species losses. As such, we need effective monitoring programs that alert us not only to biodiversity losses, but also to functional changes in species assemblages and associated ecosystem processes. Ants are important components of terrestrial food webs and a key group in food web interactions and numerous ecosystem processes. Their sensitive and rapid response to environmental changes suggests that they are a suitable indicator group for the monitoring of abiotic, biotic, and functional changes. We tested the suitability of the incidence (i.e. the sum of all species occurrences at 30 baits), species richness, and functional richness of ants as indicators of ecological responses to environmental change, forest degradation, and of the ecosystem process predation on herbivorous arthropods. We sampled data along an elevational gradient (1000–3000 m a.s.l.) and across seasons (wetter and drier period) in a montane rainforest in southern Ecuador. The incidence of ants declined with increasing elevation but did not change with forest degradation. Ant incidence was higher during the drier season. Species richness was highly correlated with incidence and showed comparable results. Functional richness also declined with increasing elevation and did not change with forest degradation. However, a null-model comparison revealed that the functional richness pattern did not differ from a pattern expected for ant assemblages with randomly distributed sets of traits across species. Predation on artificial caterpillars decreased along the elevational gradient; the pattern was not driven by elevation itself, but by ant incidence (or inter-changeable by ant richness), which positively affected predation. In spite of lower ant incidence (or ant richness), predation was higher during the wetter season and did not change with forest degradation and ant functional richness. We used path analysis to disentangle the causal relationships of the environmental factors temperature (with elevation as a proxy), season, and habitat degradation with the incidence and functional richness of ants, and their consequences for predation. Our results would suggest that the forecasted global warming might support more active and species-rich ant assemblages, which in turn would mediate increased predation on herbivorous arthropods. However, this prediction should be made with reservation, as it assumes that the dispersal of ants keeps pace with the climatic changes as well as a one-dimensional relationship between ants and predation within a food-web that comprises species interactions of much higher complexity. Our results also suggested that degraded forests in our study area might provide suitable habitat for epigaeic, ground-dwelling ant assemblages that do not differ in incidence, species richness, functional richness, composition, or predation on arthropods from assemblages of primary forests. Most importantly, our results suggest that the occurrence and activity of ants are important drivers of ecosystem processes and that changes in the incidence and richness of ants can be used as effective indicators of responses to temperature changes and of predation within mega-diverse forest ecosystems.
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Keywords: |
elevational gradient |
species traits |
forest degradation |
path model |
artificial caterpillars |
functional richness |
Farwig, N.; Bendix, J. & Beck, E. (2017): Introduction to the Special Issue “Functional monitoring in megadiverse tropical ecosystems”. Ecological indicators 1(1), 1-3.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.02.027
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Land-use and climate change are major threats to biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Most of the current biodiversity monitoring systems are based on periodic records of the populations of a set of threatened or popular ‘flagship’ indicator species. In contrast to the abundance-based monitoring of species, also specific indicators of processes and functional interactions in an ecosystem may become targets of a more functional monitoring which can unveil early responses of an ecosystem to environmental changes at different spatial and temporal scales. The contributions of this Special Issue present such functional indicators for assessing and predicting responses to environmental changes of ecosystem functions in a hotspot of tropical biodiversity.
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Keywords: |
Ecuador |
ecosystem services |
Biodiversity |
ecosystem functions |
global change effects |
functional monitoring systems |
Paul, C.; Weber, M. & Knoke, T. (2017): Agroforestry versus farm mosaic systems – Comparing land-use efficiency, economic returns and risks under climate change effects. Science of The Total Environment online , online.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.037
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Abstract:
Abstract:
Increasing land-use conflicts call for the development of land-use systems that reconcile agricultural production with the provisioning of multiple ecosystem services, including climate change mitigation. Agroforestry has been suggested as a global solution to increase land-use efficiency, while reducing environmental impacts and economic risks for farmers. Past research has often focused on comparing tree-crop combinations with agricultural monocultures, but agroforestry has seldom been systematically compared to other forms of land-use diversification, including a farm mosaic. This form of diversification mixes separate parcels of different land uses within the farm. The objective of this study was to develop a modelling approach to compare the performance of the agroforestry and farm mosaic diversification strategies, accounting for tree-crop interaction effects and economic and climate uncertainty. For this purpose, Modern Portfolio Theory and risk simulation were coupled with the process-based biophysical simulation model WaNuLCAS 4.0. For an example application, we used data from a field trial in Panama. The results show that the simulated agroforestry systems (Taungya, alley cropping and border planting) could outperform a farm mosaic approach in terms of cumulative production and return. Considering market and climate uncertainty, agroforestry showed an up to 21% higher economic return at the same risk level (i.e. standard deviation of economic returns). Farm compositions with large shares of land allocated to maize cultivation were also more severely affected by an increasing drought frequency in terms of both risks and returns. Our study demonstrates that agroforestry can be an economically efficient diversification strategy, but only if the design allows for economies of scope, beneficial interactions between trees and crops and higher income diversification compared to a farm mosaic. The modelling approach can make an important contribution to support land-use decisions at the farm level and reduce land-use conflicts at the landscape level.
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Keywords: |
climate change |
Agroforestry |
land use modeling |
Economics |
Paul, C. & Knoke, T. (2016): Forest value: More than commercial. Science 354(6319), 1541-1541.
Strobl, S.; Cueva, E.; Silva, B.; Knüsting, J.; Schorsch, M.; Scheibe, R.; Bendix, J. & Beck, E. (2016): Water relations and photosynthetic water use efficiency as indicators of slow climate change effects on trees in a tropical mountain forest in South Ecuador. Ecological Indicators xxx, xxx-xxx.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.12.021
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Abstract:
Abstract:
The effects of an increasing moisture on trees of the tropical species-rich mountain rain forest in the South Ecuadorian Andes was investigated, using the daily total water consumption (TWC) and the instantaneous water use efficiency (WUE, ratio of photosynthetic CO2 uptake per water loss by transpiration) as ecophysiological indicators. Two canopy and one sub-canopy tree species, (Vismia tomentosa, Clusiaceae, an as of yet unknown Lauracee, and Spirotheca rosea, Bombacaceae) were the experimental objects. Seasonal changes as well as a long-term (18 months) trend of increasing precipitation caused an inverse reaction of the TWC of the trees. Because of a rather unlimited water supply to the trees from a permanently high water content of the soil, transpiration followed mainly the atmospheric demand of water vapor, and increasing moisture hence reduced water loss by transpiration. It was hypothesized that in spite of the reduction in transpiratory water loss photosynthetic carbon acquisition would be not or less affected due to an increase in water use efficiency. Concomitant measurements of photosynthetic net CO2 uptake showed the expected increase of WUE in V. tomentosa and S. rosea, but no clear reaction of the Lauracee. Accompanying measurements of stem extension growth confirmed an undiminished growth of V. tomentosa and S. rosea but showed also suspended growth of the Lauracee during the wettest months. While TWC can be continuously monitored with the heat dissipation technique, WUE is determined by leaf porometry in campaigns for which access to the canopy is required. Simultaneous recordings of the gas exchange of leaves at 4 different positions in the crown of one of the experimental trees (V. tomentosa) showed the usability of the trait WUE in combination with the total daily water consumption as indicator set for assessing the response of trees to a subtly changing climate. However, not all tree species appear as likewise useful indicator trees.
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Keywords: |
tropical trees |
physiological indicators |
water and carbon relations |
water use efficiency |
long and short term monitoring |