Pasture rehabilitation on, and management of degraded areas in the Andes of South Ecuador
Final Report Abstract
Pastoralism is the main land use in the tropical Andes of Ecuador. Mountain rainforests have been widely replaced by pastures with exotic grasses, mainly Golden Millet (Setaria sphacelata). However, many pastures have been abandoned because of heavy infestation by weeds, in particular by the tropical bracken fern (Pteridium spp.). Ecophysiological studies showed a delicate equilibrium between the grass and the weed in which temperature and moisture play an important role. Modelling of the competition over an altitudinal range from 1800 to 2800 m elevation, including also the different UV-sensitivity of Setaria and bracken explains the observation that at lower elevation the grass dominates over the fern whereas in the higher regions the opposite is the case. A second aspect of the competition between both species is a higher nutrient acquisition capacity of the fern, explaining why fertilization of the poor soils shifts the equilibrium in favor of the grass. A third factor is grazing which can stimulate growth of the grass while damaging the fern by trampling, both effects depending however on the intensity of pasture management. Golden Millet is known for a high content of soluble oxalate that can cause the severe cattle disease Hypocalcemia ("milk fever", lameness). Fertilization increases the oxalate content. A joint study with the Universidad Tecnica Particular de Loja (UTPL) showed that fertilization with 100 kg N per ha and year combined with bimonthly cutting the grass (simulating grazing greatly promotes growth but did not increase the oxalate content beyond the toxic threshold. More fertilization and less frequent grazing however, resulted in a toxic oxalate content. In a field experiment on a heavily bracken-infested slope at about 2000 m elevation, control of the bracken fern and subsequent pasture rehabilitation could be achieved and a demonstration area has been prepared with an information booth. Several combinations of fertilization and grazing intensity (simulated by mowing) were investigated with respect to growth of the grass and sustainable suppression of the fern. For information of the local farmers the common management (no fertilization, intense grazing, allowing 0.8 piece of cattle per ha and year) was contrasted with our recommendation (high fertilization, at least during the first years after restoration of the pasture, and low to moderate intensity of grazing, allowing at least two pieces of cattle). With fertilization and proper management the need to create new pastures by clearing the natural forest can thus be mitigated. Since the project was part of the German-Ecuadorian Platform for knowledge transfer, information of knowledge conveyors and potential applicants was an essential program point. The approaches were: Publications in Spanish, oral and poster presentations at meetings, visits of the demonstration area and of individual farms and the provision of plant material. Our data have been used for a holistic ecological and socio-economical assessment of several options for using abandoned pastures in the research area: Afforestation or pasture farming with high or low/no input. The investigation showed that afforestation and intense pasture farming improve the ecological value compared to the abandoned pasture, but low input pasture management does not. This also holds for the economic values of the land use options. A representative poll showed that the local people are more inclined towards afforestation but with subsidies would also prefer intense pasture farming. These studies have been published in 2 papers in Nature Communications triggering press releases from the Technical University of Munich and the Universities of Bayreuth and Marburg.
Publications
- (2013) Current Provisioning Services: Pasture Development and Use, Weeds (Bracken) and Management. In: Bendix J, Beck E, Bräuning A, Makeschin F, Mosandl R, Scheu S and Wilcke W (eds): Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity and Environmental Change in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of South Ecuador. Ecol Stud 221, 205-218; Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York
Roos K, Bendix J, Curatola G, Gawlik J, Gerique A, Hamer U, Hildebrandt P, Knoke T, Meyer H, Pohle P, Potthast K, Thies B, Tischer A, Beck E
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38137-9_15) - (2013) Future Provisioning Services: Repasturisation of Abandonded Pastures, Problems and Pasture Management. In: Bendix J, Beck E, Bräuning A, Makeschin F, Mosandl R, Scheu S and Wilcke W (eds): Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity and Environmental Change in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of South Ecuador. Ecol Stud 221, 355-370: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York
Beck E, Bendix J, Silva B, Rollenbeck R, Lehnert L, Hamer U, Potthast K, Tischer A, Roos K
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38137-9_26) - (2014) Afforestation or intense pasturing improve the ecological and economic value of abandoned tropical farmlands. Nat Commun 5, 5612 (2014)
Knoke T, Bendix J, Pohle P, Hamer U, Hildebrandt P, Roos K, Gerique A, Sandoval ML, Breuer L, Tischer A, Brenner S, Calvas B, Aguirre N, Castro LM, Windhorst D, Weber M, Stimm B, Günter S, Palomeque X, Mora J, Mosandl R, Beck E
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6612) - (2014) Mapping two competing grassland species from a low-altitude helium balloon. IEEE Journal of selected topics in applied earth observations and remote sensing 7: 1939-1404
Silva B, Lehnert L, Roos K, Fries A, Rollenbeck R, Beck E, Bendix J
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2014.2321896) - (2015) El helecho común o llashipa: Maneras de combater la llashipa. 12pp, NCI Loja 2016
Adams J, Beck E
- (2016) Canopy evapotranspiration, leaf transpiration and water use efficiency of an Andean pasture in SE-Ecuador – a case study. Erdkunde 70(1): 5 -18
Silva B, Strobl S, Beck E, Bendix J
(See online at https://doi.org/10.3112/erdkunde.2016.01.02) - (2016) Combatting the Bracken Problem – Restoration and Sustainable Use of Bracken Infested Pastures. In: Biodiversity Hotspot – Tropical Mountain Rainforest (Bogner FX, Bendix J, Beck E, eds.), p 134-140
Adams J, Roos K, Beck E
- (2016) Compositional diversity of rehabilitated tropical lands supports multiple ecosystem services and buffers uncertainties. Nat Commun 7:11877
Knoke T, Paul C, Hildebrandt P, Calvas B, Castro LM, Härtl F, Döllerer M, Hamer U, Windhorst D, Wiersma YF, Fernandez GF, Obermeier WA, Adams J, Breuer L, Mosandl R, Beck E, Weber M, Stimm B, Haber W, Fürst C, Bendix J
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11877) - (2016) Rehabilitación de pastos y manejo de áreas degradadas en los Andes del Sur de Ecuador. In: Proc. I. Congreso Ecuatoriano de Restauración del Paisaje (Mazón M, Aguirre N. eds), Loja: EDILOJA Cía. Ltda
Adams J, Beck E
- (2018) Pasture rehabilitation on, and management of degraded areas in the Andes of South Ecuador. In: Landscape Restoration, Sustainable Use and Cross-Scale Monitoring of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functions – a Science-directed Approach to South Ecuador (Beck E, Knoke T, Farwig N, Breuer L, Siddons D, Bendix J, eds.) p 17-25, University of Bayreuth
Beck E, Roos K, Adams J, Burneo-Valdivieso JI
(See online at https://doi.org/10.5678/lcrs/pak823-825.cit.1696) - (2018) Who will win where and why? An ecophysiological dissection of the competition between a tropical pasture grass and the invasive weed Bracken over an elevation range of 1000m in the tropical Andes. PLOS ONE 13(8): e0202255
Knüsting J, Brinkmann MC, Silva B, Schorsch M, Bendix J, Beck E, Scheibe R
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202255) - ( 2019) Rehabilitación de pastizales y manejo de áreas degradadas en los Andes del Sur de Ecuador. In: Beck E, Suárez JP, Knoke T, Farwig N, Breuer L, Siddons D, Castro LM, Espinosa CI, Fries A, Bendix J (eds) Restaraución del paisaje, uso sostenible y monitoreo a varias escalas de la Biodiversidad y las functiones Ecosistémicas. Un enfoque científico para el sur del Ecuador. Ediloja, Loja Ecuador, pp 24-34
Beck E, Roos K, Adams J, Burneo-Valdivieso JI
- (2019) Combatiendo el problema de la “Llashipa”:Restauración y uso sustenable de pastos infestados por helechos invasivos. In: Hotspot de Biodiversidad: El Bosque Tropical de Montana (Bogner FX, Bendix J, Beck E, eds.), p 136-141
Adams J, Roos K, Beck E
- (2019) Optimizing Setaria pastures: The effect of fertilization on biomass production and oxalate content. Tabebuia Bull 6, p12
Adams J, Burneo-Valdivieso JI, Luzòn Ramirez FD, Beck E
