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Polylepis woodland remnants as biodiversity islands in the Bolivian high Andes

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Abstract

Mountain forests deserve special attention from ecologists and conservation biologists given the ecosystem services they provide to society, and their threat under global change. In the subalpine region of the Andes, Polylepis woodlands occur as arboreal islands in a matrix of grassland and scrub. Due to overgrazing and burning, however, these woodland patches are believed to cover only 11% of their potential area in Bolivia, core area for Polylepis. We reviewed the knowledge on the species diversity for the Bolivian Polylepis woodland remnants, assessed the conservation status of the occurring species, determined their trophic niche, and related species richness with climatic variables and elevation. Based in 31 publications, we found 780 identified species occurring in Polylepis woodlands: 425 plants, 266 birds, 46 mammals, 35 butterflies and 8 reptiles. Ten of the 13 Bolivian Polylepis species, as well as 7 other plant species, 14 bird species and 4 mammal species were categorized as threatened or near threatened according to IUCN criteria. In general, plant species richness increased with increased precipitation and length of the growth season, while it decreased with increasing elevation. There was a positive relationship between bird species richness, precipitation and length of the growth season. The highest bird endemism in Polylepis woodland remnants occurred at intermediate elevations, temperatures and precipitation. Mammal species richness decreased with increasing maximum temperature. Finally, we discuss the most important knowledge gaps regarding biodiversity in Bolivian Polylepis woodland remnants.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all the researchers who have worked in the Bolivian Polylepis woodlands. E. Gareca thanks the staff of the Centro de Biodiversidad y Genética for their help and support. Gonzalo Navarro checked the biogeographic province column of Table 1. Christa De Troeyer helped in the plant data base construction. Modesto Zárate checked the plant species list and helped with data of growth form of plants for Appendix 1 in Supplementary Material. José Antonio Balderrama helped with the data of trophic niche for birds in Appendix 2 in Supplementary Material. Teresa Tarifa made valuable observations and comments for the mammals in Appendix 2 in Supplementary Material. One anonymous reviewer improved the quality of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Plant Ecology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 31, Box 3425, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    Edgar E. Gareca & Olivier Honnay

  2. Centro de Biodiversidad y Genética, Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Casilla 538, Cochabamba, Bolivia

    Edgar E. Gareca

  3. Division Forest, Nature and Landscape Research, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    Martin Hermy

  4. Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Jon Fjeldså

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  1. Edgar E. Gareca
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Correspondence to Edgar E. Gareca.

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Gareca, E.E., Hermy, M., Fjeldså, J. et al. Polylepis woodland remnants as biodiversity islands in the Bolivian high Andes. Biodivers Conserv 19, 3327–3346 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-010-9895-9

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