University of Amsterdam (NL) - Páramo vegetation research, Ecuador.

Study Extent

The study was done in the paramo of El Carchi province located in the high Andes of Northern Ecuador. The area is part of the so called "global epicecenter of biodiversity". In El Carchi province the following sites were studies: Guandera Biological Reserve, located in the eastern cordillera 11 km east of San Gabriel El Angel Ecological Reserve, it is separated from Guandera by a agricultural central valley and it is located on the southern slopes of the volcanic El Voladero basin. Los Encinos Scientific Station, it is located adjacent to the El Angel Ecological Reserve. The study also included the region of the volcanoes Chiles-Cumbal, this area is shared between Colombia and Ecuador and it is known as the "Northern volcanic Zone". The altitudinal range cover in the studies varies from 3430 m.a.sl. up to 4000m.a.sl. The data was collected in the Cumbal area in July 1956 and October 1978 and in El Carchi province between April-December 2004 and January-March 2006.

Sampling

In the study done at the Cumbal-Chiles region, 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. Different releves were done at different altitudes in the Paramo. In El Carchi province following the criteria of Walter (1954) the vegetation sampling was done considered the subdivision made by soil-water regime into zonal and azonal paramo vegetation. Different plots of 5mx5m were established and the cover of all plants in 25m2 were recorded following the methodology of Mueller-Dombois and Ellenberg (1974). In both studies, the community vegetation releve data were converted into species occurrence data.

Quality Control

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 (Cumbal-Chiles) and the validation of the taxonomy of each species.

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).

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

The study was done in the paramo of El Carchi province located in the high Andes of Northern Ecuador. The area is part of the so called "global epicecenter of biodiversity". The study also included the region of the volcanoes Chiles-Cumbal, this area is shared between Colombia and Ecuador and it is known as the "Northern volcanic Zone" The altitudinal range cover in the studies varies from 3430 m.a.sl. up to 4000m.a.sl.