Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador

The Ecosystem (Reserva Biológica San Francisco).- Mountain Rain Forests in Southern Ecuador as a Hotspot of Biodiversity - Limited Knowledge and Diverging Patterns.- The People Settled Around Podocarpus National Park.- Ecuador Suffers the Highest Deforestation Rate in South America.- Methodological Challenges of a Megadiverse Ecosystem.- Gradients in Ecosystem Analysis.- Investigating Gradients in Ecosystem Analysis.- The Investigated Gradients.- The Altitudinal Gradient.- Climate.- Soils Along the Altitudinal Transect and in Catchments.- Flora and Fungi: Composition and Function.- Flora and Fungi: Composition and Function.- Flora and Fungi: Composition and Function.- Flora and Fungi: Composition and Function.- Flora and Fungi: Composition and Function.- Fauna: Composition and Function.- Fauna: Composition and Function.- Fauna: Composition and Function.- Fauna: Composition and Function.- Water Relations.- Nutrient Status and Fluxes at the Field and Catchment Scale.- Biotic Soil Activities.- Altitudinal Changes in Stand Structure and Biomass Allocation of Tropical Mountain Forests in Relation to Microclimate and Soil Chemistry.- Stand Structure, Transpiration Responses in Trees and Vines and Stand Transpiration of Different Forest Types Within the Mountain Rainforest.- Plant Growth Along the Altitudinal Gradient - Role of Plant Nutritional Status, Fine Root Activity, and Soil Properties.- Spatial Heterogeneity Patterns - a Comparison Between Gorges and Ridges in the Upper Part of an Evergreen Lower Montane Forest.- The Unique Purdiaea nutans Forest of Southern Ecuador - Abiotic Characteristics and Cryptogamic Diversity.- Climate Variability.- Growth Dynamics of Trees in Tropical Mountain Ecosystems.- Temporal Heterogeneities - Matter Deposition from RemoteAreas.- Gradients of Disturbance.- Gap Dynamics in a Tropical Lower Montane Forest in South Ecuador.- Landslides as Important Disturbance Regimes - Causes and Regeneration.- Sustainable and Non-Sustainable Use of

The tropical mountain ecosystem of one of the "hottest" hotspots of biodiversity in the world was investigated by almost 30 groups of researchers from various disciplines. They performed ecosystem analyses following two gradients: an altitudinal gradient and a gradient of land use intensity and ecosystem regeneration following human use. Based on these analyses, this volume discusses findings in macro and microclimate; physics, chemistry, and biology of soils; water relations; matter turnover and nutrient availability; biomass allocation; plant growth; floral composition; vegetation structure and dynamics; plant life forms; organismic interactions; population diversity of birds, moths, and microarthropods; ethnobotanical and sociological aspects; forest management; and reforestation with indigenous species. Several new hypotheses regarding biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and the sustainable management of a biodiversity hotspot are presented.

From the reviews:



"The editors of this book have attempted to address the complexity of this mountain ecosystem through the work of 140 researchers in around 30 research groups. ... The many illustrations throughout the book are clear and informative. ... The book is targeted at those interested in ecosystem studies and sustainable land management and resource use ... . I would recommend it to anyone interested in the complexities of mountain ecosystems ... ." (Paul M. Ramsay, Mountain Research and Development, Vol. 28 (3/4), August-November, 2008)

"The book offers a detailed picture of the research conducted within the interdisciplinary project in Ecuador and is therefore particularly suited for people working in tropical mountain rainforests. Yet, it may also be of interest to anybody studying altitudinal or disturbance gradients as the chapters address a large number of ecologically important aspects. ... Overall, the chapters are very well illustrated with lots of coloured flow-charts, photos and figures." (Nina Farwig, Basic and Applied Ecology, Issue 10, 2009)