Three millennia of vegetation and environmental dynamics in the Lagunas de Mojanda region, northern Ecuador

The pollen record from Lagunas de Mojanda, located at 3748 m a.s.l. (northern Ecuadorian Andes) reflects the vegetation and climate dynamics for the last ca 3400 cal yr BP. Páramo vegetation has been the main vegetation type since the beginning of the record. At Lagunas de Mojanda, from the last ca...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: ANDREA VILLOTA, HERMANN BEHLING, SUSANA LEÓN-YÁNEZ
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences 2017-12-01
Series:Acta Palaeobotanica
Online Access:https://acpa.botany.pl/Three-millennia-of-vegetation-and-environmental-ndynamics-in-the-Lagunas-de-Mojanda,118680,0,2.html
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850072912690675712
author ANDREA VILLOTA
HERMANN BEHLING
SUSANA LEÓN-YÁNEZ
author_facet ANDREA VILLOTA
HERMANN BEHLING
SUSANA LEÓN-YÁNEZ
author_sort ANDREA VILLOTA
collection DOAJ
description The pollen record from Lagunas de Mojanda, located at 3748 m a.s.l. (northern Ecuadorian Andes) reflects the vegetation and climate dynamics for the last ca 3400 cal yr BP. Páramo vegetation has been the main vegetation type since the beginning of the record. At Lagunas de Mojanda, from the last ca 3400 to 2200 cal yr BP, grass páramo was well represented mainly by Poaceae (40%) and the occurrence of Valeriana (5%), while montane forest taxa were poorly represented and subpáramo taxa were rare. The vegetation composition suggests cool and humid conditions. Between ca 2200 and ca 1300 cal yr BP, montane rainforest and subpáramo taxa had a higher presence but páramo taxa remained the main vegetation type in the study area, suggesting cool climatic conditions. From ca 1300 to ca 500 cal yr BP, páramo vegetation remained stable, with higher presence of Phlegmariurus and Isoetes, suggesting cool and humid conditions. The last ca 500 cal yr BP generally show lower frequency of montane rainforest and subpáramo taxa. Páramo vegetation reached the highest share, with the presence of Poaceae, Plantago and Ranunculus suggesting a trend of peat bog drying. Fires were present during the whole record, perhaps human-caused, but the study area does not show great disturbance except from ca 1300 to 500 cal yr BP, a period of an evident higher influx of charcoal particles coincidentally with nearby ancient human occupation.
format Article
id doaj-art-a3d87e2d48a94803b6a1f7492c663d73
institution DOAJ
issn 2082-0259
language English
publishDate 2017-12-01
publisher W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences
record_format Article
series Acta Palaeobotanica
spelling doaj-art-a3d87e2d48a94803b6a1f7492c663d732025-08-20T02:46:59ZengW. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of SciencesActa Palaeobotanica2082-02592017-12-0157240742110.1515/acpa-2017-0016118680Three millennia of vegetation and environmental dynamics in the Lagunas de Mojanda region, northern EcuadorANDREA VILLOTA0HERMANN BEHLING1SUSANA LEÓN-YÁNEZ2Herbario QCA, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, P.O. Box: 17-01-2184, Quito, EcuadorUniversity of Göttingen, Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, GermanyHerbario QCA, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, P.O. Box: 17-01-2184, Quito, EcuadorThe pollen record from Lagunas de Mojanda, located at 3748 m a.s.l. (northern Ecuadorian Andes) reflects the vegetation and climate dynamics for the last ca 3400 cal yr BP. Páramo vegetation has been the main vegetation type since the beginning of the record. At Lagunas de Mojanda, from the last ca 3400 to 2200 cal yr BP, grass páramo was well represented mainly by Poaceae (40%) and the occurrence of Valeriana (5%), while montane forest taxa were poorly represented and subpáramo taxa were rare. The vegetation composition suggests cool and humid conditions. Between ca 2200 and ca 1300 cal yr BP, montane rainforest and subpáramo taxa had a higher presence but páramo taxa remained the main vegetation type in the study area, suggesting cool climatic conditions. From ca 1300 to ca 500 cal yr BP, páramo vegetation remained stable, with higher presence of Phlegmariurus and Isoetes, suggesting cool and humid conditions. The last ca 500 cal yr BP generally show lower frequency of montane rainforest and subpáramo taxa. Páramo vegetation reached the highest share, with the presence of Poaceae, Plantago and Ranunculus suggesting a trend of peat bog drying. Fires were present during the whole record, perhaps human-caused, but the study area does not show great disturbance except from ca 1300 to 500 cal yr BP, a period of an evident higher influx of charcoal particles coincidentally with nearby ancient human occupation.https://acpa.botany.pl/Three-millennia-of-vegetation-and-environmental-ndynamics-in-the-Lagunas-de-Mojanda,118680,0,2.html
spellingShingle ANDREA VILLOTA
HERMANN BEHLING
SUSANA LEÓN-YÁNEZ
Three millennia of vegetation and environmental dynamics in the Lagunas de Mojanda region, northern Ecuador
Acta Palaeobotanica
title Three millennia of vegetation and environmental dynamics in the Lagunas de Mojanda region, northern Ecuador
title_full Three millennia of vegetation and environmental dynamics in the Lagunas de Mojanda region, northern Ecuador
title_fullStr Three millennia of vegetation and environmental dynamics in the Lagunas de Mojanda region, northern Ecuador
title_full_unstemmed Three millennia of vegetation and environmental dynamics in the Lagunas de Mojanda region, northern Ecuador
title_short Three millennia of vegetation and environmental dynamics in the Lagunas de Mojanda region, northern Ecuador
title_sort three millennia of vegetation and environmental dynamics in the lagunas de mojanda region northern ecuador
url https://acpa.botany.pl/Three-millennia-of-vegetation-and-environmental-ndynamics-in-the-Lagunas-de-Mojanda,118680,0,2.html
work_keys_str_mv AT andreavillota threemillenniaofvegetationandenvironmentaldynamicsinthelagunasdemojandaregionnorthernecuador
AT hermannbehling threemillenniaofvegetationandenvironmentaldynamicsinthelagunasdemojandaregionnorthernecuador
AT susanaleonyanez threemillenniaofvegetationandenvironmentaldynamicsinthelagunasdemojandaregionnorthernecuador