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Ecosistemas colombianos. Amenazas y riesgos: Una aplicación de la Lista Roja de Ecosistemas - (Colombian Ecosystems: Threats and risks. An application of the Red List of Ecosystems)

Authors:
Andres Etter at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana
Andres Etter
Ângela Andrade at Universidade Federal do Acre
Ângela Andrade
Kelly A. Saavedra-Ramírez at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana
Kelly A. Saavedra-Ramírez
Paula Amaya-Valderrama at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana
Paula Amaya-Valderrama
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Abstract

La Lista Roja de Ecosistemas (LRE) proporciona un nuevo estándar unificado de carácter global, desarrollado por la UICN (Union Internacional de Conservación de la Naturaleza), cuyo propósito es orientar procesos de evaluación de riesgo que sean comparables y compatibles, acerca del estado de todos los ecosistemas del mundo, que pueda ser aplicado de manera coherente desde el nivel global, hasta los niveles regional, nacional o local. Esta metodología permite valorar y comparar la situación de riesgo de los ecosistemas, según criterios cuantitativos estandarizados, para por ejemplo hacer seguimiento de la efectividad de cumplimiento de acuerdos o políticas, o prever los riesgos e impactos de futuros proyectos de desarrollo. Aquí presentamos una primera evaluación nacional de los ecosistemas terrestres continentales de Colombia aplicando esta metodología, con el fin de aportar a la orientación de la planificación ambiental del país.
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Habitat of two threatened short-tailed whip-scorpions (Arachnida: Schizomida) in the tropical Andes of Northern South America
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2024
  • J INSECT CONSERV
Schizomids are one of the less-known arachnid groups in terms of their natural history and ecology. However, due to their remarkable short-range endemic distribution, they may be vulnerable to climate change and habitat loss. In Colombia, although the national IUCN red list of threatened invertebrates has categorized species of schizomids as vulnerable (VU), this assessment was based on expert criteria. Therefore, information about the ecology of schizomids is critical for a more accurate reassessment of their conservation status. In this study, we describe the habitat of two species of Surazomus in endangered Andean tropical forests of Colombia after a sampling effort of 15.12 m 2 (n = 168 soil samples) and the collection of 6999 soil fauna individuals from the samples. We analyzed soil fauna communities associated with schizomids as well as different forest and environmental variables from permanent plots installed a decade ago in the Sabana de Bogotá region. Detailed information on climate, plant communities, and forest structure was obtained from these plots. Thus, we provide the first comprehensive habitat description of schizomids including both above-and belowground compartments. We found that each species lives in specific habitats with different soil fauna communities, suggesting a potential association between geographical fidelity and habitat conditions. This result could indicate that schizomids are highly sensitive to dramatic environmental changes, such as those experienced in the Andean region of Colombia. Implications for insect conservation Our study is valuable for the future reassessment of the conservation status of schizomids in the country, particularly considering that the previous categorization was based on expert criteria. Since habitat conditions and soil fauna communities are species-specific, schizomids could be disproportionately vulnerable to climate change and human disturbances in the Colombian Andes.
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Spatial extent predicts Andean epiphyte biodiversity responses to habitat loss and fragmentation across human‐modified landscapes
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2024
Aim Human‐driven landscape processes such as habitat loss and fragmentation act on biodiversity, but their effects are mediated by the spatial scale at which they are observed. We aim to analyse the scale‐of‐effects (direction and spatial extent) of landscape‐scale processes that best explain species richness and abundance across epiphyte communities. Location Neotropics, Northern Andes, Colombia, Eastern cordillera. Taxon Vascular epiphytes, Orchidaceae. Methods We used field data to unravel the scale‐of‐effect of three landscape processes—habitat loss (forest cover), fragmentation (number of patches) and edge effects (edge density)—on epiphyte biodiversity. Vascular epiphytes were sampled in the understorey across 141 plots within 23 Andean forests in the eastern Colombian cordillera We focused on the community‐level responses (species richness and total abundance) of the hyperdiverse vascular epiphyte communities using generalized linear mixed models to quantify the direction and the spatial extent of the scale‐of‐effects. Results Habitat loss and edge effects act at fine spatial extents (scale‐of‐effects = 200 m), predicting low species richness and abundance across groups. Likewise, fragmentation negatively impacts communities, but operates at larger spatial extents (scale‐of‐effects = 2000–2400 m radius). The detection of these effects is contingent upon the spatial extent and specific landscape processes involved. Models of habitat loss within a spatial extent of 800–1500 m (large confidence intervals), fragmentation below 300 m, and edge effects above 800 m show weak statistical support (marginal r ² = 0.02–0.1). Thus, the impacts of these landscape processes may be overlooked if studied at inadequate spatial extents. Main Conclusions We showed that habitat loss, fragmentation and edge effects all play a negative role on understorey epiphytic communities, but their detectability is scale dependant. The scale‐of‐effects can assist landscape designs that are beneficial for epiphytic communities, by preserving forest cover, and reducing fragmentation and exposure to edge effects at small scales (200–300 m). Conversely, landscape‐scale actions directed at reducing habitat loss and fragmentation function at larger spatial extents (>2000 m). Selecting a priori or inadequate spatial extents of analysis can obscure the detectability of landscape processes.
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Wood density is related to aboveground biomass and productivity along a successional gradient in upper Andean tropical forests
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2023
Wood density (WD) is a key functional trait related to ecological strategies and ecosystem carbon dynamics. Despite its importance, there is a considerable lack of information on WD in tropical Andean forests, particularly regarding its relationship with forest succession and ecosystem carbon cycling. Here, we quantified WD in 86 upper Andean tree and shrub species in central Colombia, with the aim of determining how WD changes with forest succession and how it is related to productivity. We hypothesized that WD will increase with succession because early successional forests will be colonized by acquisitive species, which typically have low WD, while the shaded understory of older forests should favor higher WD. We measured WD in 481 individuals from 27 shrub and 59 tree species, and quantified aboveground biomass (AGB), canopy height, net primary production (NPP) and species composition and abundance in 14, 400-m 2 , permanent plots. Mean WD was 0.513 ± 0.114 (g/cm 3), with a range between 0.068 and 0.718 (g/cm 3). Shrubs had, on average, higher WD (0.552 ± 0.095 g/cm 3) than trees (0.488 ± 0.104 g/cm 3). Community weighted mean WD (CWMwd) decreased with succession (measured as mean canopy height, AGB, and basal area); CWMwd also decreased with aboveground NPP and stem growth. In contrast, the percentage of NPP attributed to litter and the percent of shrubs in plots increased with CWMwd. Thus, our hypothesis was not supported because early successional forests had higher CWMwd than late successional forests. This was related to a high proportion of shrubs (with high WD) early in succession, which could be a consequence of: 1) a low seed availability of trees due to intense land use in the landscape and/or 2) harsh abiotic conditions early in succession that filter out trees. Forest with high CWMwd had a high %NPP attributed to litter because they were dominated by shrubs, which gain little biomass in their trunks. Our findings highlight the links between WD, succession and carbon cycling (biomass and productivity) in this biodiversity hotspot. Thus, WD is an important trait that can be used to understand upper Andean forest recovery and improve forest restoration and management practices.
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Neutral‐based processes overrule niche‐based processes in shaping tropical montane orchid communities across spatial scales
Article
Full-text available
Tropical montane forests (TMF) are characterised by high endemism, species richness and turnover across elevations. A key question is how niche‐based processes, via adaptation of species to local environmental conditions, and neutral‐based processes from dispersal limitation shape community composition at different spatial scales across human‐modified landscapes. We expect that (1) communities are highly distinct even within the same habitat type and (2) niche‐based processes play the main role in compositional turnover. To address these expectations, we investigated the compositional turnover of orchids, one of the most prominent floristic elements of TMFs. We sampled orchids in 332 plots spanning over 270 km in the eastern Colombian Andes. Plots ranged between elevations of 1160–3750 m. We used two different spatial extents (whole gradient and two elevational bands), two grains of analysis for the first expectation (regional and local) and two spatial grains for the second expectation (broad and fine scales based on Moran's Eigenvector Maps [MEMs]). We found 331 orchid species in 171 (51%) plots. We found a strong pattern of high compositional turnover across scales (>72% of total beta diversity is given by species turnover), with 87.5% of the total species pool occurring in fewer than five plots, supporting our first expectation. Contrary to our second expectation, we found that community composition is mainly driven by geographical distance, while the relative influence of elevation, environmental variables and their combined fractions were negligible across habitats and spatial scales, rejecting niche‐based processes. Synthesis. High compositional turnover, even across habitats with the highest degree of human intervention, suggests that both forest‐dwelling and open‐habitat species do not easily disperse across habitats. Species dispersal is the major force of orchid community turnover and might be strongly dependent upon macroevolutionary processes and species life‐history traits over multiple scales. Dispersal limitation also draws attention to the importance of preserving habitat connectivity to halt biodiversity losses.
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Restauración Ecológica: Principios y Practicas. Avella et al. 2022. MADS-FN.
Book
Full-text available
  • Dec 2022
Esta publicación hace un recorrido por los principales planteamientos de la restauración ecológica; recoge algunos de los esfuerzos públicos y privados que se han adelantado en Colombia, en los últimos años, para el cumplimiento de las metas del Gobierno y las planteadas en las agendas políticas al 2030; busca dar a conocer los principios planteados para la década de la Restauración, así como la necesidad de impulsarlos con mayor prioridad, y reflexiona sobre los retos que tenemos que sortear para avanzar en ello.
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Assessing restoration priorities for high-risk ecosystems: An application of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2020
  • LAND USE POLICY
Land clearing and ecosystem degradation are primary causes of loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services worldwide, putting at risk sustainable options for Earth and humankind. According to recent global estimates, degraded lands already account for at least 1 and up to 6 billion ha. Given high rates of habitat degradation and loss of biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes with high levels of ecosystem transformation, conventional approaches to conservation such as setting aside lands in protected areas, are not enough; in combination with ecosystem protection, ecological restoration is essential to ensure the conservation of biodiversity and delivery of ecosystem services. Despite recognition of the role of ecological restoration, the planning of restoration at the landscape scale remains a major challenge. Specifically, more studies are needed on developing restoration plans that maximize conservation and provisioning of ecosystem services, while minimizing competition with high-productivity land uses. We use Colombia, one of the world's mega-diversity countries in which ca. 25 % of ecosystems are listed as critically endangered (CR), as a test case for exploring the potential advantages of including the Red List of Ecosystems, a newly developed tool for assessing conservation value, in restoration planning. We identified restoration priorities focused on both high-risk ecosystems and low-productivity lands, to maximize conservation value and minimize land-use conflicts. This approach allowed us to identify over 6 M ha of priority areas for restoration, targeting the restoration of 31 (75 %) of the country's endangered ecosystems. Eight of the Regional Administrative Environmental Planning Areas (CARs) had greater than 20 % of their area identified as restoration priorities. We roughly estimated that the cost of restoring the prioritized areas with restoration through natural regeneration, using payment for ecosystem services (PES), would equal less than 50 % of the annual budget of the CARs. Our results are in sharp contrast (only 12 % agreement) with the priorities identified under the current National Restoration Strategy of Colombia, and highlight the potential contribution of the Red List of Ecosystems in refining and improving restoration planning strategies at both national and sub-national levels.
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Pollination and seed dispersal are the most threatened processes of plant regeneration
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2016
Plant regeneration is essential for maintaining forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, which are globally threatened by human disturbance. Here we present the first integrative meta-analysis on how forest disturbance affects multiple ecological processes of plant regeneration including pollination, seed dispersal, seed predation, recruitment and herbivory. We analysed 408 pairwise comparisons of these processes between near-natural and disturbed forests. Human impacts overall reduced plant regeneration. Importantly, only processes early in the regeneration cycle that often depend on plant-animal interactions, i.e. pollination and seed dispersal, were negatively affected. Later processes, i.e. seed predation, recruitment and herbivory, showed overall no significant response to human disturbance. Conserving pollination and seed dispersal, including the animals that provide these services to plants, should become a priority in forest conservation efforts globally.
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Meta‐analysis of anthropogenic habitat disturbance effects on animal‐mediated seed dispersal
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2015
  • GLOBAL CHANGE BIOL
Anthropogenic habitat disturbance is a strong biodiversity change driver that compromises not only species persistence but also the ecological interactions in which they are involved. Even though seed dispersal is a key interaction involved in the recruitment of many tree species and in consequence critical for biodiversity maintenance, studies assessing the effect of different anthropogenic disturbance drivers on this interaction have not been performed under a meta-analytical framework. We assessed the way habitat fragmentation and degradation processes affect species diversity (abundance and species richness) and interaction rates (i.e., fruit removal and visitation rates) of different groups of seed-disperser species at a global scale. We obtained 163 case studies from 37 articles. Results indicate that habitat degradation had a negative effect on seed-disperser animal diversity, whereas habitat fragmentation had a negative effect on interaction rates. Birds and insects were more sensitive in terms of their diversity, whereas mammals showed a negative effect on interaction rates. Regarding habitat, both fragmentation and degradation had a negative effect on seed-disperser animal diversity only in temperate habitats, and negative effects on interaction rates in tropical and temperate habitats. Our results indicate that the impact of human disturbance on seed-disperser species and interactions is not homogeneous. On the contrary, the magnitude of effects seems to be dependent on the type of disturbance, taxonomic group under assessment, and geographical region where the human impact occurs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Mapping the world's degraded lands
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2015
  • APPL GEOGR
Degraded lands have often been suggested as a solution to issues of land scarcity and as an ideal way to meet mounting global demands for agricultural goods, but their locations and conditions are not well known. Four approaches have been used to assess degraded lands at the global scale: expert opinion, satellite observation, biophysical models, and taking inventory of abandoned agricultural lands. We review prominent databases and methodologies used to estimate the area of degraded land, translate these data into a common framework for comparison, and highlight reasons for discrepancies between the numbers. Global estimates of total degraded area vary from less than 1 billion ha to over 6 billion ha, with equally wide disagreement in their spatial distribution. The risk of overestimating the availability and productive potential of these areas is severe, as it may divert attention from efforts to reduce food and agricultural waste or the demand for land-intensive commodities.
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Scientific Foundations for an IUCN Red List of Ecosystems
Article
Full-text available
An understanding of risks to biodiversity is needed for planning action to slow current rates of decline and secure ecosystem services for future human use. Although the IUCN Red List criteria provide an effective assessment protocol for species, a standard global assessment of risks to higher levels of biodiversity is currently limited. In 2008, IUCN initiated development of risk assessment criteria to support a global Red List of ecosystems. We present a new conceptual model for ecosystem risk assessment founded on a synthesis of relevant ecological theories. To support the model, we review key elements of ecosystem definition and introduce the concept of ecosystem collapse, an analogue of species extinction. The model identifies four distributional and functional symptoms of ecosystem risk as a basis for assessment criteria: A) rates of decline in ecosystem distribution; B) restricted distributions with continuing declines or threats; C) rates of environmental (abiotic) degradation; and D) rates of disruption to biotic processes. A fifth criterion, E) quantitative estimates of the risk of ecosystem collapse, enables integrated assessment of multiple processes and provides a conceptual anchor for the other criteria. We present the theoretical rationale for the construction and interpretation of each criterion. The assessment protocol and threat categories mirror those of the IUCN Red List of species. A trial of the protocol on terrestrial, subterranean, freshwater and marine ecosystems from around the world shows that its concepts are workable and its outcomes are robust, that required data are available, and that results are consistent with assessments carried out by local experts and authorities. The new protocol provides a consistent, practical and theoretically grounded framework for establishing a systematic Red List of the world's ecosystems. This will complement the Red List of species and strengthen global capacity to report on and monitor the status of biodiversity.
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Incorporating temporality and biophysical vulnerability to quantify the human spatial footprint on ecosystems
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2011
  • BIOL CONSERV
Land use is a pervasive influence on most terrestrial ecosystems. Humans are converting natural ecosys-tems and appropriating an increasingly large portion of the net primary productivity of the Earth's eco-systems, leaving a rapidly expanding footprint on the environment and threatening the functioning of ecosystems and the ecological services they provide. Understanding the impacts of human activities on the environment from a local to a global scale requires an adequate representation of human modified landscapes and an explanation of the relationships between socioeconomic and biophysical factors. A first step towards this objective is the development of a quantitative measure of the spatial footprint of humans on landscapes, which can then be used as an analytical and monitoring tool for global change, biodiversity and ecosystem studies. Existing approaches have been based mainly on geographic proxies of human influence such as population density, land transformation, accessibility and infrastructure. In this paper, we developed a more comprehensive and spatially-explicit footprint index based on three dimensions: land use intensity, intervention time, and biophysical vulnerability, which we then applied to Colombia as a case study. We found the inclusion of the vulnerability index provided an effective means to address regional variability in biophysical responses to land use impacts. Accounting for the duration of human intervention provided new insights into the relative capacity of ecosystems to recover or be restored. From this knowledge, more appropriate land use policies can be developed.
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Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2012
  • NATURE
The most unique feature of Earth is the existence of life, and the most extraordinary feature of life is its diversity. Approximately 9 million types of plants, animals, protists and fungi inhabit the Earth. So, too, do 7 billion people. Two decades ago, at the first Earth Summit, the vast majority of the world's nations declared that human actions were dismantling the Earth's ecosystems, eliminating genes, species and biological traits at an alarming rate. This observation led to the question of how such loss of biological diversity will alter the functioning of ecosystems and their ability to provide society with the goods and services needed to prosper.
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Incorporating temporality and biophysical vulnerability to quantify the human spatial footprint on ecosystems
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2011
Land use is a pervasive influence on most terrestrial ecosystems. Humans are converting natural ecosystems and appropriating an increasingly large portion of the net primary productivity of the Earth’s ecosystems, leaving a rapidly expanding footprint on the environment and threatening the functioning of ecosystems and the ecological services they provide. Understanding the impacts of human activities on the environment from a local to a global scale requires an adequate representation of human modified landscapes and an explanation of the relationships between socioeconomic and biophysical factors. A first step towards this objective is the development of a quantitative measure of the spatial footprint of humans on landscapes, which can then be used as an analytical and monitoring tool for global change, biodiversity and ecosystem studies. Existing approaches have been based mainly on geographic proxies of human influence such as population density, land transformation, accessibility and infrastructure. In this paper, we developed a more comprehensive and spatially-explicit footprint index based on three dimensions: land use intensity, intervention time, and biophysical vulnerability, which we then applied to Colombia as a case study. We found the inclusion of the vulnerability index provided an effective means to address regional variability in biophysical responses to land use impacts. Accounting for the duration of human intervention provided new insights into the relative capacity of ecosystems to recover or be restored. From this knowledge, more appropriate land use policies can be developed.
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Integrating Conservation and Restoration in a Changing World
Article
  • Feb 2015
Conservation biology and restoration ecology share a common interest in maintaining or enhancing populations, communities, and ecosystems. Much could be gained by more closely integrating the disciplines, but several challenges stand in the way. Goals differ, reflecting different origins and agendas. Because resources are insufficient to meet all needs, priorities must be established. Rapid environmental changes create uncertainties that compromise goals and priorities. To realize the benefits of integration, goals should be complementary, acknowledging the uncertainties that stem from temporal and spatial dynamics. Priorities should be established using clearly defined criteria, recognizing that not everything can be conserved or restored; some form of triage is inevitable. Because goals and priorities are societal concerns, conservation and restoration must include people as part of—rather than separate from—nature. A more meaningful and integrated approach will blur disciplinary boundaries, focus on outcomes rather than approaches, and use the tools of both disciplines.
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