| Description |
1 online resource (189 pages) |
| Contents |
Cover; Half Title; Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; Acknowledgments; Summary; Samenvatting; 1 General introduction; 1.1 Background; 1.1.1 Ecosystem and environmental interactions; 1.1.2 Páramo ecosystem services; 1.2 Motivation of the study; 1.3 General objective; 1.3.1 Specific objectives; 1.3.2 Research questions; 1.4 Outline of the thesis; 2 Description of the study area; 2.1 History; 2.2 Location; 2.3 Vegetation cover and soils; 2.3.1 Vegetation traits; 2.4 Climate; 2.5 Hydro -- Meteorological data; 2.6 Geology |
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3 Catchment characterization and altitudinal- range analysis of carbon stocks3.1 Introduction; 3.2 Materials and methods; 3.2.1 Sampling design; 3.2.2 Laboratory analyses; 3.2.3 Data treatment and analyses; 3.3 Results; 3.3.1 Altitudinal analysis of carbon and nitrogen pools; 3.3.2 Aboveground biomass and carbon stocks; 3.3.3 Soil organic carbon stocks; 3.3.4 MDS analysis; 3.4 Discussion; 3.4.1 Altitudinal analysis of carbon and nitrogen pools; 3.4.2 Aboveground biomass and carbon stocks; 3.4.3 Soil organic carbon stocks; 3.5 Conclusion |
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4 Estimating Gross Primary production and hydrological processes in páramo grasslands4.1 Introduction; 4.2 Methods and data; 4.2.1 Review of suitable environmental models for alpine grasslands; 4.2.2 Data availability; 4.2.3 Model description; 4.2.4 Model simulation; 4.3 Results; 4.3.1 Model parameterization and calibration; 4.3.2 Estimation of GPP; 4.3.3 Water Balance; 4.4 Discussion; 4.4.1 Current and long-term carbon dynamics; 4.4.2 Water balance; 4.4.3 Challenges in the use of BIOME-BGC; 4.5 Conclusions |
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5 Analysis of the relationship between climate variables and gross primary production using data driven techniques5.1 Introduction; 5.2 Methods and data; 5.2.1 Data; 5.2.2 Data preparation; 5.2.3 Methodology; 5.2.4 DDM set-up; 5.2.5 Comparing model performance; 5.3 Results; 5.3.1 Model-free IVS; 5.3.2 Comparison of DDMs; 5.3.3 Order of effects; 5.3.4 Computational time; 5.4 Discussion; 5.4.1 GPP responses to climatic variables; 5.4.2 Surrogate model performance; 5.4.3 Performance based on variables selected and time frame; 5.4.4 Computational time; 5.5 Conclusions; Appendix 5-A |
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6 Runoff generation in a combined glacier -- páramo catchment6.1 Introduction; 6.2 Materials and methods; 6.2.1 Study area; 6.2.2 Data collection; 6.2.3 Experimental set-up; 6.2.4 Laboratory Methods; 6.2.5 Data analysis; 6.3 Results; 6.3.1 Hydrochemical catchment characterization; 6.3.2 Rainfall events; 6.4 Discussion; 6.4.1 Spatial hydrochemical analysis and suitable tracers; 6.4.2 Quantifying the contribution to storm runoff; 6.5 Conclusions; 7 A process-oriented hydrological representation of a páramo catchment; 7.1 Introduction; 7.2 Methods and data; 7.2.1 TAC model |
| Summary |
"In the Andes mountainous region of South America grasslands known as páramos provide important ecosystem services like sustaining biodiversity, securing carbon sequestration and providing water storage. However, many páramos regions are subject to land use change due to expanding agriculture, intensified grazing and land burning. These are usually caused by socio-economic factors driving local communities to increase their income generation. Trying to achieve a better understanding of the páramos is often restricted to exploring specific details and does not follow an integrated approach or a comprehensive ecosystem analysis. In this research the focus is on better understanding the dominant ecohydrological processes and their interactions. An integrated approach is followed using in-situ measurements, field experiments, laboratory analyses, and numerical modelling. Also, different hydroinformatics tools are used to identify and quantify the ecosystem services provided by the páramos. Moreover, a framework is developed that allows a more realistic quantification and mapping of the main ecosystem services. The approach was carried out for a test site in an Ecological area in North Ecuador. The findings show a clear difference in ecosystem services depending on their altitudinal range and type of vegetation. These results can be used to further develop environmental management and landscape planning strategies, in order to better meet the social goals. This research is aligned with the priorities advocated in the IPCC Report (2007) 'to improve representation of the interactive coupling between ecosystems and the climate system', and with SDG #15: Life on Land 'By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services'."--Provided by publisher |
| Notes |
7.3 Results and discussion |
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Print version record |
| Subject |
Paramo ecology -- Andes Region
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Ecohydrology -- Andes Region
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TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING -- Civil -- Dams & Reservoirs.
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Ecohydrology.
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Paramo ecology.
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Andes Region.
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| ISBN |
9781351647304 |
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135164730X |
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