Evaluation of Environmental Services of an Andean Brow Forest for Resource Management in High Andean Areas

Abstract

The objective of the research is to develop a management tool for the intrinsic evaluation of the ecosystem services of the forest (SEB) of the Andean eyebrow, in the buffer zone of the Sangay National Park; the services evaluated were: provisioning service (PS); biomass (TOC), soil organic carbon (SOC), biodiversity and regulation (RS) use and ecological flow; through monitoring units called conglomerates (CC), from the lower area of the forest on the border of the agricultural activities; permanent monitoring plots of (60x60) m were established within the CC, for TOC subplots were established, while the RS considered measures of flow in reservoirs, the capacity in main channels and agricultural use. PS values of COT-140.66 Mg * ha-1 were obtained; COS was evaluated in intervened and non-intervened areas at (0-30, 30-60, 60-90) cm deep; that showed the conversion of forest to grass, SOC decreased and presented highly significant differences from 784 (Mg ha-1) to 556 (Mg ha-1), biodiversity established the dominance of Miconia sp, Miconia pseudocentrophora and Andean Myrsine; the Simpson 0.75, Shannon 1,53 and Margaleff 5.67 indices, determine a high diversity of species; the RS showed values of 0.47m3/s for agricultural flow, 0.78m3/s for ecological flow and 0.003m3/s for human consumption flow of which 165 users are supplied; The AS/RS relationship indicates degradation processes in the FES, which
results as an indicator for the implementation of Andean eyebrow forest management policies.