Forest Ecosystem Fragmentation in Ecuador: Challenges for Sustainable Land Use in the Tropical Andean

Jin Kyoung Noh,Gabriel Gaona,Cristian Echeverria,Janina Kleemann,Christine Fürst,Pablo Cuenca,Hongmi Koo

doi:10.3390/land11020287

Abstract

Natural ecosystems are declining and fragmenting globally at unprecedented rates. Fragmentation of natural ecosystems leads to decline in functions and services with severe impact on people. In Ecuador, despite establishment of the nationwide ecosystem classification, this baseline information has not been fully exploited to generate a monitoring system for ecosystem changes. Forest ecosystems are altered daily in Ecuador by human impact, but the relationship between forest fragmentation and human land use has not been adequately explored. To provide an overview of how recent forest fragmentation at the national and ecosystem level was affected by practices in human land use, we quantified the degree of forest fragmentation using the forest fragmentation index (FFI). The relationship between the degree of forest ecosystem fragmentation and human land use of 64 natural forest ecosystems was analyzed during the time period 1990 to 2014. At the national level, the expansion of pasture and inhabited area significantly increased forest fragmentation. The regression models based on the FFI value indicated that the forest fragmentation was highly correlated to pastures in forest ecosystems with low, moderate, and high fragmentation in 2014 due to a progressive increase in pastures. This study showed the critical gaps between forest conservation strategies and actual practices in human land use.

Highlights

Over the past 50 years, humans have altered ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period in human history, mostly in order to meet the fast growing demand for food, fresh water, timber, fiber, and fuel [1]
To provide an overview of how recent forest fragmentation at the national and ecosystem level was affected by practices in human land use, we quantified the degree of forest fragmentation using the forest fragmentation index (FFI)
This study focused on addressing the following research questions: (i) How has forest fragmentation in the tropical Andes occurred at the ecosystem level over recent decades? (ii) What types of human land use led to the current forest ecosystem fragmentation in the tropical Andes?

Summary

Introduction

Over the past 50 years, humans have altered ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period in human history, mostly in order to meet the fast growing demand for food, fresh water, timber, fiber, and fuel [1]. These global changes have huge implications for ecosystem functioning and services [2]. Forest fragmentation induced by land use is occurring at an alarming rate, which highly impacts ecological functions and services, and negatively affects natural recovery processes after disturbances as catalysts of rapid environmental change [8,9,10]. It can lead to the exacerbation of poverty for people who heavily rely on natural resources and products [11]

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Conclusion