Browsing by Autor "Karla Uvidia"

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Caracterización de fragmentos de bosque montano en un escenario de transición urbana
(2022) Karla Uvidia; Laura F. Salazar; Santiago Bonilla‐Bedoya
INTRODUCCIÓN. El avance de la frontera agrícola junto con la expansión urbana contribuyen al cambio de Uso de la Tierra y se constituyen como una amenaza para los bosques montanos catalogados como ecosistemas frágiles a nivel tropical. OBJETIVO. La presente investigación caracteriza un fragmento de bosque montano alto, ubicado en los espacios periurbanos de la ciudad de Quito. MÉTODO. Para ello se desarrolló un inventario vegetal georreferenciado que consideró algunos parámetros estructurales, así como la determinación de la diversidad de especies de la parcela. RESULTADOS. Se encontró 18 especies arbóreas y arbustivas, entre endémicas y propias de los Andes, siendo la más abundante Brachyotum ledifolium con 45 individuos y las más escasas Pentacalia sp.1, Miconia papillosa y Myrcianthes rhopaloides con un individuo. Gynoxys campii, también abundante en la parcela, se encontró catalogada por la UICN como en “Peligro de Extinción” a causa de la destrucción de su hábitat. DISCUSIÓN Y CONCLUSIONES. El fragmento de bosque se encuentra en buen estado de conservación, sin embargo, se muestra amenazado por la expansión urbana, se recomienda la evaluación de los planes de manejo del área protegida al que pertenece este fragmento de bosque.
Effects on Soil Organic Carbon Stock in the Context of Urban Expansion in the Andes: Quito City Case
(2025) Karla Uvidia; Laura Salazar; Juan Ramón Molina; Gilson Fernandes da Silva; Santiago Bonilla‐Bedoya
Urbanization is a driving force of landscape transformation. One of the ecosystems most vulnerable to urban expansion processes is montane forests located in high altitude mountainous regions. Despite their significance for biodiversity, regulation of the hydrological cycle, stability, prevention of soil erosion, and potential for organic carbon storage, these forest ecosystems show high vulnerability and risk due to the global urbanization process. We analyzed the potential variations produced by land cover change in some attributes related to soil organic matter in transitional forest fragments due to the expansion of a predominantly urban matrix landscape. We identified and characterized a fragment of a high montane evergreen forest in the Western Cordillera of the Northern Andes located in the urban limits of Quito. Then, we comparatively analyzed the variations in the attributes associated with soil organic carbon: soil organic matter, density, texture, nitrogen, phosphorus, and pH. We also considered the following soil coverages: forest, eucalyptus plantations, and grassland. We viewed the latter two as hinge coverages between forests and urban expansion. Finally, we estimated variations in soil organic carbon stock in the three analyzed coverages. For the montane forest fragment, we identified 253 individuals distributed among 18 species, corresponding to 10 families and 14 genera. We found significant variations in soil attributes associated with organic matter and an estimated 66% reduction in the carbon storage capacity of montane soils when they lose their natural cover and are replaced by Eucalyptus globulus plantations. Urban planning strategies should consider the conservation and restoration of natural and degraded peri-urban areas, ensuring sustainability and utilizing nature-based solutions for global climate change adaptation and mitigation. Peri-urban agroforestry systems represent an opportunity to replace and restore conventional forestry or crop plantation systems in peri-urban areas that affect the structure and function of ecosystems and, therefore, the goods and services derived from them.