Abstract
This chapter summarizes how plant species composition and richness in the Andean montane forests of southern Ecuador are driven by environmental heterogeneity. Natural vegetation dynamics of these highly diverse forests is dramatically affected by the current human land use practices with the consequence of an immense loss of species richness that most likely results in a drastic deterioration of ecosystem services on the landscape level. Basic knowledge about ecosystem functioning is still scarce for the region, and the study of plant functional traits should receive increasing attention, since these traits are the main attribute by which plants influence ecosystem functioning and thus ecosystem services.
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Homeier, J., Werner, F.A., Gawlik, J., Peters, T., Diertl, KH.J., Richter, M. (2013). Plant Diversity and Its Relevance for the Provision of Ecosystem Services. In: Bendix, J., et al. Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity and Environmental Change in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of South Ecuador. Ecological Studies, vol 221. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38137-9_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38137-9_8
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