Ecuador

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

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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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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Enriquecimiento de plantaciones forestales como herramienta para la rehabilitación de ambientes degradados en la region sur Ecuatoriana (Enrichment and rehabilitation of degraded environments in southern Ecuador)

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Antecedentes

El estudio analiza el potencial de adaptación de especies nativas a las condiciones de plantaciones de Pinus patula, en una plantación cerca de la Estación Científica San Francisco en la región sur del Ecuador.

Objetivos y Metodología

El trabajo estudia dos micro-ambientes: claros y bajo dosel de plantación, instalando cuatro parcelas en cada uno de ellos, con un total de 648 individuos de nueve especies nativas.

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Plan de restauración de los manglares en Puerto Villamil Isla Isabela – Galapagos (Plan for restoration of mangroves in Galapagos)

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Antecedentes

Los manglares brindan servicios ambientales importantes incluyendo la protección de costas contra el oleaje, la provisión de hábitat para especies marinas y el establecimiento de áreas de recreación turística. Sin embargo, los manglares alrededor del mundo se ven amenazados por el desarrollo de costas. En las islas Galápagos, la acumulación de residuos sólidos en las raíces de los manglares y la construcción de hoteles, viviendas, puertos y malecones, constituyen las fuentes principales de presión sobre estos ecosistemas.

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Contextual Analysis of Agroforestry Adoption in the Buffer Zone of Podocarpus National Park, Ecuador

Background

Promoting sustainable agriculture and community development has been an important strategy both to alleviate resource pressures on Ecuador’s Podocarpus National Park (PNP) and surrounding forested areas in its buffer zone, and to aid local communities. However, many contextual factors drive neighboring rural and agricultural communities to put pressure on PNP and the surrounding landscape.

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Tropical Forest Restoration within Galapagos National Park: Application of a State-transition Model

Background

Few restoration models address ecological and management issues across the vegetation mosaic of a landscape. Because of a lack of scientific knowledge and funds, restoration practitioners focus instead on site-specific prescriptions and reactive rather than proactive approaches to restoration; this approach often dooms restoration projects to failure. This synthesis article tests a state-transition model as a decision-making tool to identify and achieve short- and long-term restoration goals.

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