Download Evaluation of ecosystem processes and global change adaptation.

Evaluation of ecosystem processes
and global change adaptation.
Extreme Ecosystems
Research team
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Carlos Iván Espinosa
Pablo Ramón
Elizabeth Gusmán
Omar Cabrera
Indira Black
Diego Marín
Andrea Jara
Tropical dry forest of Southern
Ecuador
• Dry season: May to
November
• Annual temperature:
20-26 °C
• Annual precipitation:
300-700 mm
Tropical dry forest of Southern
Ecuador
•High levels of endemism
•Amotape-Huancabamba
area constitutes a single
phytogeographic zone.
Imágenes fauna: http://www.darwinnet.org
Evaluation of ecosystem processes and global
change adaptation. Extreme ecosystems.
General objetive:
• To examine the biological effects of global change on the
dynamic and integrity´s ecosystems, indicated by changes in
the structure and functionality.
Specific objetives:
1. To monitory the temporal changes in structure and
functionality of dry forest, which allow us to define
indicators of change.
 Temporal approach
2. To study the changes in vegetation along an
altitudinal gradient to simulate changes caused by
variations in environmental conditions.
 Spatial approach
Objective 1: Dry forest characterization
and definition of indicators of change.
• Establishment of a 25 has. plot
Objective 1
• Is the community structure of dry forest (regeneration and
adult plants) explained by interspecific relationship and seed
dispersal processes in space and time?
• Spatial structure of
woody plants
• Seed dispersal
syndromes and spatial
distribution of adult
plants and seed rain.
Installing
The first 5seed
has.traps
of the
inplot
5 ha
plot
havefor
been
sampling
established
of seed rain
density
floristic composition
1 Ha
spatial distribution data
Objective 1:
Objective 1:
 Preliminary inventory of birds
species of REMA
 25 species captured in mist
nets
Objective 1:
• To what extent environmental variables determine the
dynamic (growth, recruitment and mortality) and the
phenological cycles of dry forest species?
• Radial growth of:
Geoffroea spinosa, Capparis
flexuosa, Bursera graveolens
& Tabebuia chrysantha
• variation of precipitation
and temperature 
phenology of growth ring
of deciduous, semideciduous and evergreen
4 months of
monitoring
Objective 2: Extreme ecosystems
adequacies to environmental variations
• Spatial patterns: 30 x
30 m plots  200m
Objective 2:
• What changes are there in the community structure and
species morpho-physiology in response to changing
environmental conditions?
• Factors:
– Altitud  temperatura
Croton wagneri
Insects community
(Leaves morpho-physiology)
Objective 2:
• What changes are there in the community structure and
species morpho-physiology in response to changing
environmental conditions?
• Factors:
– Altitud  temperatura
– Pendiente  nutrients
Croton wagneri
3500 mapped points:
- Dependent variables: location, length, crown area
Objective 2:
• How do environmental conditions, interspecific relationships
and soil seed bank influence the gap – patch dynamic?
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432 soil samples  soil seed bank