Relict high-Andean ecosystems challenge our concepts of naturalness and human impact

Abstract What would current ecosystems be like without the impact of mankind? This question, which is critical for ecosystem management, has long remained unanswered due to a lack of present-day data from truly undisturbed ecosystems. Using mountaineering techniques, we accessed pristine relict ecos...

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Autores principales:	Steven P. Sylvester, Felix Heitkamp, Mitsy D. P. V. Sylvester, Hermann F. Jungkunst, Harrie J. M. Sipman, Johanna M. Toivonen, Carlos A. Gonzales Inca, Juan C. Ospina, Michael Kessler
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/d0d6a51d35c64955a7ab10e55eee013d
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:d0d6a51d35c64955a7ab10e55eee013d2021-12-02T15:05:49ZRelict high-Andean ecosystems challenge our concepts of naturalness and human impact10.1038/s41598-017-03500-72045-2322https://doaj.org/article/d0d6a51d35c64955a7ab10e55eee013d2017-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03500-7https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract What would current ecosystems be like without the impact of mankind? This question, which is critical for ecosystem management, has long remained unanswered due to a lack of present-day data from truly undisturbed ecosystems. Using mountaineering techniques, we accessed pristine relict ecosystems in the Peruvian Andes to provide this baseline data and compared it with the surrounding accessible and disturbed landscape. We show that natural ecosystems and human impact in the high Andes are radically different from preconceived ideas. Vegetation of these ‘lost worlds’ was dominated by plant species previously unknown to science that have become extinct in nearby human-affected ecosystems. Furthermore, natural vegetation had greater plant biomass with potentially as much as ten times more forest, but lower plant diversity. Contrary to our expectations, soils showed relatively little degradation when compared within a vegetation type, but differed mainly between forest and grassland ecosystems. At the landscape level, a presumed large-scale forest reduction resulted in a nowadays more acidic soilscape with higher carbon storage, partly ameliorating carbon loss through deforestation. Human impact in the high Andes, thus, had mixed effects on biodiversity, while soils and carbon stocks would have been mainly indirectly affected through a suggested large-scale vegetation change.Steven P. SylvesterFelix HeitkampMitsy D. P. V. SylvesterHermann F. JungkunstHarrie J. M. SipmanJohanna M. ToivonenCarlos A. Gonzales IncaJuan C. OspinaMichael KesslerNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Steven P. Sylvester Felix Heitkamp Mitsy D. P. V. Sylvester Hermann F. Jungkunst Harrie J. M. Sipman Johanna M. Toivonen Carlos A. Gonzales Inca Juan C. Ospina Michael Kessler Relict high-Andean ecosystems challenge our concepts of naturalness and human impact
description	Abstract What would current ecosystems be like without the impact of mankind? This question, which is critical for ecosystem management, has long remained unanswered due to a lack of present-day data from truly undisturbed ecosystems. Using mountaineering techniques, we accessed pristine relict ecosystems in the Peruvian Andes to provide this baseline data and compared it with the surrounding accessible and disturbed landscape. We show that natural ecosystems and human impact in the high Andes are radically different from preconceived ideas. Vegetation of these ‘lost worlds’ was dominated by plant species previously unknown to science that have become extinct in nearby human-affected ecosystems. Furthermore, natural vegetation had greater plant biomass with potentially as much as ten times more forest, but lower plant diversity. Contrary to our expectations, soils showed relatively little degradation when compared within a vegetation type, but differed mainly between forest and grassland ecosystems. At the landscape level, a presumed large-scale forest reduction resulted in a nowadays more acidic soilscape with higher carbon storage, partly ameliorating carbon loss through deforestation. Human impact in the high Andes, thus, had mixed effects on biodiversity, while soils and carbon stocks would have been mainly indirectly affected through a suggested large-scale vegetation change.
format	article
author	Steven P. Sylvester Felix Heitkamp Mitsy D. P. V. Sylvester Hermann F. Jungkunst Harrie J. M. Sipman Johanna M. Toivonen Carlos A. Gonzales Inca Juan C. Ospina Michael Kessler
author_facet	Steven P. Sylvester Felix Heitkamp Mitsy D. P. V. Sylvester Hermann F. Jungkunst Harrie J. M. Sipman Johanna M. Toivonen Carlos A. Gonzales Inca Juan C. Ospina Michael Kessler
author_sort	Steven P. Sylvester
title	Relict high-Andean ecosystems challenge our concepts of naturalness and human impact
title_short	Relict high-Andean ecosystems challenge our concepts of naturalness and human impact
title_full	Relict high-Andean ecosystems challenge our concepts of naturalness and human impact
title_fullStr	Relict high-Andean ecosystems challenge our concepts of naturalness and human impact
title_full_unstemmed	Relict high-Andean ecosystems challenge our concepts of naturalness and human impact
title_sort	relict high-andean ecosystems challenge our concepts of naturalness and human impact
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/d0d6a51d35c64955a7ab10e55eee013d
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Relict high-Andean ecosystems challenge our concepts of naturalness and human impact

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