CHARACTERIZATION AND MAPPING OF PEATLANDS IN THE ECUADORIAN ANDES

START – END DATE: May 2020 – June 2022

STATUS: On-going project

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Esteban Suárez (USFQ Researcher and Professor)

LOCATION: Ecuadorian Andes

PROJECT DURATION: 36 months

FUNDING: US Forest Service

Paramo peatlands are critical ecosystems with a strong ecological and environmental importance. On the one hand, they represent a unique component of biodiversity due to the presence of numerous species adapted to flood regimes. On the other hand, they store large amounts of carbon, contributing to mitigate the effects of climate change and to have a leading role in the regulation and storage of water that serves millions of people. These characteristics are exacerbated in the case of paramo peatlands, in which average levels of carbon storage of 2000 MgC / ha. have been reported. But despite the importance of these paramo peatlands, we still know very little about their extension and distribution, a gap that becomes more important because traditional vegetation maps tend to underestimate the surface area of this type of ecosystem. In this context, the objectives of this project are to: 1) Make a map of paramo peatlands at a national scale 2) Characterize the general types of paramo peatlands and their conservation status in Ecuador 3) Quantify carbon storage in paramo peatlands of Ecuador.

As part of this project, the first map of peatlands was drawn up for the paramo that surrounds the city of Quito, including the high areas of the Cayambe-Coca and Cotopaxi National Parks, and the Antisana Ecological Reserve, together with its areas of influence.  Based on the methodology that was developed in this first stage, we are currently conducting the field phase to extend this mapping exercise to the entire territory of the Ecuadorian paramo.