Ruiz Leslye, Carrión-Paladines Vinicio, Vega Marlon, López Fausto, Benítez Ángel
Carrera de Biología, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, San Cayetano Alto s/n, Loja 1101608, Ecuador.
Biodiversidad de Ecosistemas Tropicales-BIETROP, Herbario HUTPL, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, San Cayetano Alto s/n, Loja 1101608, Ecuador.
J Fungi (Basel). 2023 Mar 22;9(3):386. doi: 10.3390/jof9030386.
The montane shrublands of southern Ecuador represent one of the least studied ecosystems, which in the last decade have been seriously threatened by increasing wildfires, deforestation, overgrazing, and conversion to forest plantations. Our main objective was to determine, at the local scale, the diversity of species composing the biological soil crust (BSC) at three elevations (2100, 2300, and 2500 m.a.s.l.) and their possible relationships with soil physical and chemical properties in montane shrublands. For this purpose, three monitoring plots of 100 m were established at each elevation, and within each plot, 20 subplots were established (180 subplots sampled in total). In addition, composite soil samples were collected at a depth of 0 to 10 cm, and some physical and biochemical parameters (e.g., bulk density, texture, pH, organic matter, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and potassium) of the soil were analyzed. The results show 35 species (23 lichens, 10 bryophytes and 2 cyanobacteria) at three elevations with a bell-shaped or hump-shaped distribution pattern. This allowed us to point out that the species richness was higher at the intermediate elevations and that the composition showed significant differences in the three elevations related to soil factors. Elevation and soil drivers may help to better chose the more suitable biological soil crust (lichen-dominated and bryophyte-dominated BSC) for the management and conservation of the montane scrub of Ecuador, which is strongly threatened by human activities.
厄瓜多尔南部的山地灌木丛是研究最少的生态系统之一，在过去十年中，该生态系统受到野火增加、森林砍伐、过度放牧以及转变为人工林的严重威胁。我们的主要目标是在局部尺度上，确定山地灌木丛中三个海拔高度（海拔2100米、2300米和2500米）生物土壤结皮（BSC）的物种多样性及其与土壤物理和化学性质的可能关系。为此，在每个海拔高度设立了三个100米的监测样地，每个样地内又设立了20个小样地（总共采样180个小样地）。此外，在0至10厘米深度采集了复合土壤样本，并分析了土壤的一些物理和生化参数（如容重、质地、pH值、有机质、土壤有机碳、总氮、有效磷和钾）。结果显示，三个海拔高度共有35个物种（23种地衣、10种苔藓植物和2种蓝细菌），呈钟形或驼峰形分布模式。这使我们能够指出，物种丰富度在中间海拔较高，并且在与土壤因素相关的三个海拔高度上，其组成存在显著差异。海拔和土壤驱动因素可能有助于更好地选择更适合的生物土壤结皮（地衣为主和苔藓植物为主的BSC），用于管理和保护受到人类活动严重威胁的厄瓜多尔山地灌丛。
