Linking global change with soil and water conservation in the High Andes (2017-2023)
ParamoSUS aims to contribute to sustainable ecosystem management by strengthening evidence-based research on conservation and restoration of páramo soils, and on their vital hydrological regulation function in the High Andes. In the project, we focused on interactions between soil, water and vegetation across different temporal and spatial scales at sites where the history of human interventions is well documented.
Four academic partners are involved: the Escuela Politécnica Nacional (Quito), the Universidad de Cuenca (Cuenca), UCLouvain and UNamur (Belgium). The project also includes partnerships with the public water companies of Quito (EPMAPS) and Cuenca (ETAPA), Quito’s Water Fund (FONAG) and ElecAustro. The project is funded by the Académie de Recherche de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (ARES) through a research for development project (PRD), and receives co-funding from the academic partners, EPMAPS, FONAG, ETAPA and ElecAustro.
Researchers involved (in alphabetical order): Bert De Bievre (FONAG), Antonio Borrero (ElecAustro), Marlon Calispa (UCLouvain/UCuenca), Felipe Cisneros (UCuenca), Luna Delarue (FONAG), Pierre Delmelle (UCLouvain), Nicolas Dendoncker (UNamur), Mario Guallpa (ETAPA/EPMAPS), Braulio Lahuatte (FONAG), Armando Molina (UCuenca), Diego Mora (UCuenca), Oscar Morales (UCuenca), Teresa Muñoz (EPMAPS), Rafael Osorio (former EPMAPS), Sebastian Paez (EPN), Natalia Valencia (EPN), Veerle Vanacker (UCLouvain), Paul Ventimilla (ETAPA), Marcos Villacis (EPN).
Publications:
Calispa, M., van Ypersele, R., Pereira, B., Páez-Bimos, S., Vanacker, V., Villacís, M., Molina, A., de Bièvre, B., Muñoz, T., and Delmelle, P.: Soil organic carbon stocks under different páramo vegetation covers in Ecuador’s northern Andes, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-4121, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-4121, 2021.
Lahuatte, B., Mosquera, G. M., Páez-Bimos, S., Calispa, M., Vanacker, V., Zapata-Ríos, X., Muñoz, T., and Crespo, P.: Delineation of water flow paths in a tropical Andean headwater catchment with deep soils and permeable bedrock, Hydrol. Process., 36, 1–17, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14725, 2022.
Molina, A., Vanacker, V., Corre, M. D., and Veldkamp, E.: Patterns in soil chemical weathering related to topographic gradients and
vegetation structure in a high Andean tropical ecosystem, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 124, 666–685, 2019.
Páez-Bimos, S., Villacís, M., Morales, O., Calispa, M., Molina, A., Salgado, S., de Bievre, B., Delmelle, P., Muñoz, T., and Vanacker, V.: Vegetation effects on soil pore structure and hydraulic properties in volcanic ash soils of the high Andes, Hydrol. Process., 36, 1–20, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14678, 2022.
Vanacker, V., Molina, A., Torres, R., Calderon, E., and Cadilhac, L.: Challenges for research on global change in mainland Ecuador, Neotropical Biodiversity, 4, 114–118, https://doi.org/10.1080/23766808.2018.1491706, 2018.