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Environmental Changes Affecting the Andes of Ecuador

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Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity and Environmental Change in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of South Ecuador

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 221))

Abstract

Global terrestrial biodiversity is strongly affected by expanding land use, climate change and nitrogen deposition. This holds especially true for tropical forests which already show large changes due mainly to land use activities. The extent of land use in Ecuador has increased considerably during the last century. An extensive network of primary and secondary roads now opens up most of the western and central areas of the country, while parts of the Oriente have been converted into protected areas. Concerning climate change warming is predicted to be moderate for western Ecuador, while the eastern part of the country will suffer from rising temperatures that will affect a floristic region harbouring one of the global diversity hotspots for vascular plant species. Changes in precipitation are expected to be spatially much less cohesive, with increasing and decreasing amounts of precipitation being unevenly distributed throughout the Andes. The spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of precipitation and wind also regulate the deposition of rainwater-dissolved matter in the mountain ecosystem which results from biomass burning in Amazonia. In this chapter, our current knowledge as to the past development of these major threats of the ecosystem will be discussed focusing on the study area South Ecuador.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Paul Ziegler and Erwin Beck for linguistic proofreading this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Kochstr. 4/4, 91054, Erlangen, Germany

    Thorsten Peters, Thomas Drobnik, Melanie Rankl & Michael Richter

  2. Laboratory for Climatology and Remote Sensing, Faculty of Geography, University of Marburg, Deutschhausstr. 10, 35032, Marburg, Germany

    Hanna Meyer, Rütger Rollenbeck, Boris Thies & Jörg Bendix

Authors
  1. Thorsten Peters
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  2. Thomas Drobnik
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  3. Hanna Meyer
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  4. Melanie Rankl
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  5. Michael Richter
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  6. Rütger Rollenbeck
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  7. Boris Thies
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  8. Jörg Bendix
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thorsten Peters .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Faculty of Geography, Philipps University Marburg, Deutschhausstr. 10, Marburg, 35032, Germany

    Jörg Bendix

  2. , Department of Plant Physiology and Bayre, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, Bayreuth, 95440, Germany

    Erwin Beck

  3. , Institute of Geography, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Kochstr. 4/4, Erlangen, 91054, Germany

    Achim Bräuning

  4. , Institute of Soil Science and Site Ecolo, Technical University of Dresden, Piennerstr. 19, Tharandt, 01737, Germany

    Franz Makeschin

  5. , Institute of Silviculture, Technische Universität München, Am Hochanger 13, Freising, 85354, Germany

    Reinhard Mosandl

  6. , J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and, Georg August University Göttingen, Berliner Str. 28, Göttingen, 37073, Germany

    Stefan Scheu

  7. , Geographic Institute of the University o, University of Bern, Hallerstr. 12, Bern, 3012, Switzerland

    Wolfgang Wilcke

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Peters, T. et al. (2013). Environmental Changes Affecting the Andes of Ecuador. In: Bendix, J., et al. Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity and Environmental Change in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of South Ecuador. Ecological Studies, vol 221. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38137-9_2

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