Ecuador

Soil carbon differences among forest, agriculture, and secondary vegetation in lower montane Ecuador

Background

Changes in land use and land cover may affect soil properties and processes. Conversion of forest to cultivation is assumed to result in a decrease in soil nutrients. In the lower montane region of Ecuador, shifting cultivation patterns mean that forest clearing is occurring simultaneously with recolonization of secondary vegetation on abandoned agricultural lands.

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Fruit Production of the Ungurahua Palm (Oenocarpus bataua subsp. bataua, Arecaceae) in an Indigenous Managed Reserve

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This article reviews the biology and use of the Amazonian palm Oenocarpus batua, known in Ecuador as ungurahua. It is a mid-story palm that grows throughout the terra firme sites in the Amazon Basin and wet coastal areas of Ecuador, Trinidad, and Panama.

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Economic Botany of Spondias Purpurea

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This article reviews the Neotropical fruit Spondias purpurea (Anacardiaceae) - "Ciruela" or "Ovo", describing the cultivation, yields, and economics of the fruit.

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Enriquecimiento de plantaciones de Pinus patula con especies nativas en el sur del Ecuador (Enrichment of Pinus patula plantations with native species in southern Ecuador)

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Vegetation recovery on earthquake-triggered landslide sites in the Ecuadorian Andes

Background

In this study, researchers surveyed vegetation in a landslide on the Quijos river in Ecuador and inventoried species distribution at distances along the landslide.

Conclusions & Takeaways

The authors found that species composition at the upper limit of the landslide is most similar to the plant composition of the forest, indicating that the forest is an important pool of colonizers. The authors suggest that earthquake landslides are common and an important contributor to floristic diversity

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Seed inputs to microsite patch recovery on two tropandean landslides in Ecuador

Background

Regeneration of landslides is typically initiated by seed rain. This study reports on seed rain, seed pool, and plant cover on two Ecuadorian landslides.

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Trade-offs between tree cover, carbon storage and floristic biodiversity in reforesting landscapes

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The multiple benefits of reforestation projects for carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services are taken as a given. Yet not all forests are equal. Plantation-type reforestation projects typically undertaken for carbon sequestration are known for low species richness and inadequate provision of other ecosystem services. This study explores the relationships between an increase in tree cover area and changes in forest carbon storage and the potential of a landscape to provide habitat for native floristic biodiversity.

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Trade-offs between tree cover, carbon storage and floristic biodiversity in reforesting landscapes

Background

The multiple benefits of reforestation projects for carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services are taken as a given. Yet not all forests are equal. Plantation-type reforestation projects typically undertaken for carbon sequestration are known for low species richness and inadequate provision of other ecosystem services. This study explores the relationships between an increase in tree cover area and changes in forest carbon storage and the potential of a landscape to provide habitat for native floristic biodiversity.

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Formación de un corredor de hábitat de un bosque montano alto en un mosaico de páramo en el norte del Ecuador (Creating a high andean montane forest habitat corridor within a paramo mosaic in Ecuador)

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Programa de reforestación en areas marginales de la Sierra Ecuatoriana (CESA - Intercooperation Suiza) (Reforestation program in marginal areas of the Ecuadorian highlands)

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