Andes, bofedales, and the communities of Huascáran National Park, Peru

Abstract

Mountain wetlands are abundant in the high elevations of the tropical Andes. Wetlands occupy ~11% of the total park area and are mostly found in the large mountain valleys. Wetlands occur up to 5000 m asl, but most occur between 4,000–4,700 m asl. The highest elevation wetlands are typically dominated by cushion plants, while lower elevation wetlands are more commonly occupied by graminoids. About 60% of all wetlands are peatlands and the remainder are mineral soil wet meadows. The peatlands are up to 11 m deep and 12,000 years old, storing an average of 2,101 Mg C ha-1, which is comparable to lowland tropical peatlands. Our work in Huascarán National Park in Peru is also showing the importance of wetlands in a coupled natural-human system. These wetlands and alpine landscapes are shaped in part by legacies of past human land use, including ancient pastoralism and farming, and are also affected by millions of downstream users dependent upon wetlands and glacier-fed streams for water and energy production. Biodiversity and endemism is high among taxonomic groups such as plants, birds, fish, amphibians and insects. Currently the tropical Andes are in ecological flux due to rapid land cover changes caused by both biophysical and socioeconomic drivers. In addition, the high Andes are experiencing warming and rapid glacial retreat that is resulting in hydroecological changes and socioeconomic changes to the traditional Andean societies that feed back to changes in wetland sustainability.