Analysis and synthesis of palaeoecological data revealing patterns of mountain vegetation and plant diversity dynamics and its response to climate, fire, land use changes in biodiversity hotspots through space and time

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Future global climate and land use changes will probably have strong impacts on tropical biodiversity hotspots and need to be addressed scientifically. Past environmental changes and their role in the development and dynamic of ecosystems can be reconstructed by palaeoecological methods, which help to understand ecosystem functioning. A relatively large number of palaeoecological data sets from the Podocarpus National Park (PNP) region, provided during previous phase, and a few additional data sets as well as modern vegetation/pollen rain studies will be used to reveal patterns of mountain vegetation and plant diversity dynamics. Their response to past climate, fire, land use changes will be investigated in detail. Results of in the southern Ecuadorian Andes and the Mata Atlantica biodiversity hotspot in South America will be compared and synthesised as a contribution for management and conservation concepts in biodiversity hotspots. Gaps regarding the reconstruction of vegetation and other environmental changes in the eastern PNP region will be filled. The visualisation and modelling of the data as well as studies on the upper forest line dynamics during the past will be extended.