Collaborative Research: Effects of Land-Use Change on the Production of Ecosystem Services in Páramo Grasslands

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Growing interest in terrestrial carbon sequestration and increasing demand for water and hydropower have focused international and regional attention on ecosystem services. This project examines those services provided by the high altitude páramo grasslands of the northern Andes. The concept of Payment for Ecosystem Services is being implemented in Ecuador, leading to tree planting in páramo grasslands to sequester carbon and alteration of traditional burning and grazing regimes to enhance water resources. However, the biophysical outcomes of these and related changes in land use and management are poorly understood, and in some cases well-intended changes may not be producing the desired outcomes. In this project, the researchers will systematically investigate the effects of land use change on the production of soil-related ecosystem services, quantify potential tradeoffs among ecosystem services, and evaluate policy implications of different land management strategies. The primary objectives are 1) to determine how land use change affects carbon storage, water storage, and water transmission in Andean páramo soils and 2) to evaluate which land uses maximize ecosystem services related to both carbon and water in páramo grassland soils. The researchers will integrate field observations and in situ experiments at two páramo study sites, Zuleta (northern Ecuador) and the Nudo del Azuay (southern Ecuador), with laboratory analyses of soil samples, and assessment of synergies, trade-offs, and relevant policies to quantify and predict effects of land use change on carbon- and water-related ecosystem services. This research will provide essential data for predicting ecosystem responses to land use change and will have immediate societal application by improving the scientific basis for Payment for Ecosystem Services programs. The results will provide key data for conservation organizations on the appropriateness of forestation as a form of land restoration in the study region, and will inform policies and programs intended to enhance both terrestrial carbon sequestration and water provision in the Ecuadorian Andes. The research also will provide educational opportunities for several graduate students and a middle-school science teacher from the U.S. and for participating undergraduate students at the University of Azuay in Ecuador, and it will strengthen the collaboration between the investigators and their Ecuadorian partners.