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The Uchucay microrefugium: An Interandean forest relict with an important arboreal richness in Southern Ecuador

Abstract:

the Uchucay Community Reserve harbors a native interandean forest relict that has been conserved because of its role in water capture and supply, within the larger El Collay Commonwealth Protected Forest and Vegetation of southeastern Ecuador. However, little is known about its tree biodiversity. Using 50 × 2 m transects randomly located, we studied the composition of woody plants with a diameter at breast height (DBA) equal or larger than 2.5 cm. We registered 57 tree species that belong to 47 genera and 32 families, with a richness between 12 and 18 species/ha and alpha diversity of 2.5 Shannon Index. the floristic composition is dominated by Weinmannia fagaroides, Columellia oblonga and Clusia flaviflora; while the density shows an average if 67 individuals per hectare, with basal area near-ing 0.77 mm2/ha or roughly 77 m2/ha. these results show that they are old forests with high tree diver-sity. Also, that it is a microrefugium for endangered species, such as Prumnopitys montana, Podocarpus oleifolius, Oreopanax avicenniifolius, Miconia hexamera and Gynoxys dielsiana. the study included a survey on local environmental perception and the way in which they are affected with the loss of native forest flagship species, like Podocarpus sp. Copyright: