Long term biodiversity monitoring in the Andes: Establishment and baseline results - The Gloria Andes Network

CUESTA, FRANCISCO; MURIEL, PRISCILLA; MENESES, ROSA ISELA; CARILLA, JULIETA; BECK, STEPHAN; HALLOY, STEPHAN

Reno

Workshop; Long-Term Observatories of Mountain Social-Ecological Systems; 2014

The Mountain Research Initiative

The first Gloria target region in the Andes was established in 2007 in Sajama National Park in Bolivia. From that point onwards 18 new target regions have been established and two more are planned to be implemented during 2014. These sites conform the longest monitoring transect in the Neotropics expanding over 4,000 kilometers (from 8,8° N to 26,6° S) covering a precipitation range of 2,000 mm from the Dry Puna in Bolivia and Argentina (320 mm year-1) to the Humid Paramos of Colombia and Ecuador (2500 mm year-1). The 18 sites cover an altitudinal gradient of 2,400 meters from treeline ecotone to nival habitats. In terms of biodiversity representation the 18 target regions harbor 1,419 vascular plant species contained in 316 genera and 83 families of which 48% are endemic of the Andean cordillera. Additionally, the network has installed 272 soil temperature sensors representing the largest climate monitoring network in High Andean environments. It is expected that this climate data base will provide valuable information to inform climate change scenarios in the Andean region. Based on our baseline data, we report for the first time on the biodiversity configuration of High Andean communities using a standardized and systematic protocol applied consistently along the Andean Cordillera.