University of Amsterdam (NL) - Páramo Vegetation Research, paramo in the Sabana de Bogota area, Colombia

Study Extent

The study was done in the paramos area close to the municipality of Chia - Sabana de Bogota (Cundinamarca province) in september 1891.

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. The 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 taxonomical identification (when identification on the field was not possible). In total 3 releves were produced consisting of a species list with its cover, date, location, altitude, slope, etc. The data of "Sabana de Bogotá-Chia" remained in paper until 2011, when the NLBIF financed digitizing the data. The data was digitized using the software TurboVeg, which is a software 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 with its precision 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 the dataset lacks georeference and precison information. Also there is no specific habitat indication. In 2013 to improve de dataset quality, this data was completed as detail and precise as possible, but due to time restriction no georeference was given to the data and only a general indication for the habitat type was given (paramo).

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 paramo area is located in the "Sabana de Bogota" which is a plain or a high plateau located in the center of Colombia on the eastern cordillera of the Colombian Andes. The paramo is located close by the Chia municipality in de Cundinamarca province. The average altitude of the plateau is 2600m.a.s.l. and the dataset covers an altitudinal range from 2720m.a.s.l. up to 2950m.a.s.l.