Abstract
Páramo ecosystems harbor important biodiversity and provide essential environmental services such as water regulation and carbon sequestration. Unfortunately, the scarcity of information on their land uses makes it difficult to generate sustainable strategies for their conservation. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology to easily monitor and document the conservation status, degradation rates, and land use changes in the páramo. We analyzed the performance of two nonparametric models (the CART decision tree, CDT, and multivariate adaptive regression curves, MARS) in the páramos of the Chambo sub-basin (Ecuador). We used three types of attributes: digital elevation model (DEM), land use cover (Sentinel 2), and organic carbon content (Global Soil Organic Carbon Map data, GSOC) and a categorical variable, land use. We obtained a set of selected variables which perform well with both models, and which let us monitor the land uses of the páramos. Comparing our results with the last report of the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment (2012), we found that 9% of the páramo has been lost in the last 8 years.
Highlights
The Andean moorlands extend along Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Perú at heights between 3500 and 5000 m.a.s.l
The variables NDMI, bare soil (BSI), GSOC, visual atmospheric resistance index (VARI), digital elevation model (DEM), and NDMI were those that had the best relationship with the characteristics of the study area
Those indices that presented a perfect correlation were eliminated (e.g., SAVI, EVI, BSI, NGRDI, ARVI, GCI, and GNDVI) since they were built on others; they provided similar data that limited the adjustment of the model and they did not contribute to the decrease in entropy of the resulting information
Summary
The Andean moorlands (known as páramos) extend along Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Perú at heights between 3500 and 5000 m.a.s.l. Most of them are of volcanic origin and have quite complex geology and topography [1]. Most of them are of volcanic origin and have quite complex geology and topography [1] They provide several ecosystem services such as water supply and regulation, biodiversity conservation, and carbon storage [2]. The upper layers of páramo ecosystems can retain up to 183 tons of carbon/ha [4], which is significant because soil organic carbon (SOC) is considered the largest terrestrial, non-sedimentary carbon reserve [5]. Páramo soils are characterized by being dark and humic with an open and porous structure and present a slow process of organic matter degradation due to the low levels of temperature and atmospheric pressure [6]
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