The Recovery of the Lower Montane Cloud Forest in the Mucujún Watershed, Mérida, Venezuela
Background
Given the recovery of degraded forests in some landscapes throughout the tropics, the authors analyze land use change and land cover change in a mountain region of the andes of venezuela during a period of 50 years.
Research Goals & Methods
The study relies on aerial photographs taken between 1952 and 2009 of a peri-urban watershed.
Conclusions & Takeaways
The results indicate a recovery of forest cover and abandoned grassland ecosystem. Also recovery wasanalyzed using a hemerobia index using indicators of floristic composition and structure. A decrease of anthropogenic influence on ecosystems is found, but there was evidence of introduced species (Fraxinus uhdei) even in advanced secondary forest and a low recovery of species characteristic of the original ecosystem.
Reference:
. The recovery of the lower montane cloud forest in the Mucujún watershed, Mérida, Venezuela. Regional Environmental Change. 2013;13:1069–1085. doi:10.1007/s10113-013-0413-y.
Affiliation:
- Instituto de Investigaciones para el Desarrollo Forestal, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Ambientales, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
- Chair of Vegetation Science and Site Classification, Institute of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Laboraorio de Fotogrametria y Sensores Remotos, Escuela de Ingeniería, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Ambientales, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
- Escuela Técnica Superior Forestal, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Ambientales, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela