University of Amsterdam (NL) - Páramo Vegetation Research, National Natural Park El Cocuy, Colombia

Study Extent

The studies were done in The National Natural Park El Cocuy in Colombia. The sampling sites included (but were not restricted to): Laguna Grande de los Verdes, Hacienda Ritacuba, El Playon, Planada de San Jose, Cusiri, Boqueron de Cusiri, Valle de Lagunillas, Valle Bocatoma, Paramo Concavo, Cocuy Kanguara, Paso Cemento del Padre, Boqueron de la Sierra, Valle de Cojines, Paso Castillo, Laguna Rincon, Laguna del Panuelo, Cerro Diamante, Campamento Quebrada Balnca, Campamento La Plaza, Campamento Bolos Sur. To Collect the data there were 6 field trips in the following years: 1972, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1989 and 2012.

Sampling

The vegetation sampling was done by the relevé method following the Braun-Blanquet principles. The relevé is a list of the plants in a delimited plot of vegetation, with information on species cover and on substrate and other abiotic features in the plot to make as complete as possible description in terms of community composition. The community vegetation releve data were converted into species occurrence data.

Quality Control

The original data was taken in field books, consisting either of a valid species name or a code of the specimen with collection of it for its later taxonomic identification (when identification on the field was not possible). A number of 150 releves were recorded and consisted of a species list with its cover, date, location, altitude, slope, etc. All of the Paramo del Cocuy data remained in paper until 2011, when the NLBIF financed digitizing the data into a software called TurboVeg version 2.98. Another 40 releves done in the year 2012, were digitized in TurboVeg as part of the NLBIF project. The data was digitized using the software TurboVeg, which is design for this type of vegetation information and then exported from community data into species occurrence data. The data stored in TurboVeg was checked to identify errors in the information or gaps needed to be filled. The two main fields identified to be checked/completed were the georeference data and the validation of the taxonomy of each species. Also the gaps in terms of the precision of the georeference data were filled.

Method steps

1. Releve data was stored in the software TurboVeg and then exported into species occurrence data. The species list used in TurboVeg was checked by an expert to confirm the valid taxonomy (taking into account taxonomy changes, synonyms, etc)(Guido van Reenen, paramo species list).This list was cross-checked with The Plant List (http://www.theplantlist.org/), for the period July 2011 until February 2013 (during this time frame the names where the accepted). Many of the Cocuy data was lacking a georeference, precision of the georeference data and specific habitat indication. In 2012 to improve the dataset quality, it was completed as detail and precise as possible using several online resources, consultation with experts and revision of the original data. The georeference data was completed using four sources: 1. A database created by Camilo Londono who scanned all the field books of Antoine Cleef. This database included the plant collections made by A. Cleef and some of them where done in the releves of this area. In this case the method and precision used to get the georeference data were unknown. 2. Google maps. When no georeference was known at all, a point in the center of the park was created and used as the georeference and the precision was calculated as the longest distance from this point to the park borders. 3. A detailed map from the PNN "El Cocuy" made by the NGO "Los Nevados" was used to get the georeference from the releves that were done in the sites that are identified in the map. This was done in cooperation with A. Cleef who knwe exactly the location of some releves. http://www.nevados.org/mapserver/sierra-nevada-cocuy.htm 4. Some of the georeferences were calculated with a GPS and then converted to decimal coordinates using the website http://boulter.com/gps/ Also to complete the geographic coverage and the study extend recent literature was used to get info about the paramo complex. The most recent document available for Colombia is the "Atlas de Paramos de Colombia" published in 2007 and available online at http://www.humboldt.org.co/chmcolombia/servicios/jsp/paramos/enColombia.jsp. When the precision value of the georeference data was unknown, originally in the data set this was empty, but then when exporting the data into a DarwinCore archive, the precision was shown as 0, meaning it was an excat measurement. This was wrong, then a negative value was given in order to meet the DarwinCore Archive requirements when exporting the data. Most of the precision original values where in Km, this where then converted to meters in order to meet the DarwinCore Archive requirements when exporting the data.

All plants identified to species level. Vegetation including phanerogams, bryophytes and lichens.

1. Plantae
   common name: Phanerogams rank: kingdom
2. Plantae
   common name: Bryophytes rank: kingdom
3. Fungi
   common name: Lichens rank: kingdom

El Cocuy National Natural Park (PNN El Cocuy), is located in the border between the province of Boyaca with the provinces of Casanare, Arauca, Norte de Santander and Santander. The PNN El Cocuy includes the municipalities of Guican, Chiscas, El Cocuy, Chita, La Salina, Tame, Furtul and Cubará. The altitudinal range of the PNN El Cocuy is wide from 600m.a.s.l. up to 5330m.a.s.l. And the vegetation data were collected between 3950m.a.s.l. up to 4300m.al.s.l. in the paramo and superparamo biomass.