Abstract

LOZANO, PABLO; BUSMANN, RAINER; KUPERS, MANFRED  and  LOZANO C., DIEGO. Natural landslides and pioner communities in the Mountain Ecosystems of Eastern Podocarpus National Park. Caldasia [online]. 2008, vol.30, n.1, pp.1-19. ISSN 0366-5232.

Podocarpus National Park in Southern Ecuador occupies a climatological key position position with regard to the Huancabamba Depression, which forms a natural biogeographical barrier in the South. The dissected geography of this area, in addition to a thin vegetation cover and high annual rainfall, exceeding 6000mm in the Paramo areas, lead to severe landslide effects on the western and eastern flanks of the Cordillera Oriental, which reaches less than 3700 m at its highest point. The landslide dynamics in the region are the driving force generating constant regeneration processes in wide areas. This study established 138 plots of 1x5m on the western side of Podocarpus National Park. Twohundred-eighteen plant species in 180 genera and 51 families were registered, with the highest diversity found at 2700 m. The TWINSPAN analysis separated the plots into nine vegetation communities, while multivariate CANOCO analysis delineated soil characteristics as an important distinguishing factor for vegetation composition. Factors like slope and altitude did not have a remarkable influence on the vegetation communities.

Keywords : Naturals landslides; pioneer flora; altitudinal gradient; Podocarpus National Park; Ecuador.

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