Ecosystems of Ecuador

• Holdridge (1967) and Cañadas (1983)

• Based on environmental conditions:
• Climate
• Land elevation
• Rainfall to predict the predominant vegetation
• Acosta (1966) and Solís (1979)
• Different climatic and topographic conditions.
• Advancement of science, scientists perfected their classification
systems, base
• On vegetation and its relationship with environmental conditions.
• The new vegetation classification system and map for Ecuador by
Sierra and collaborators are being adopted by the Ministry of the
Environment for purposes, the new system is an improvement over
earlier vegetation studies in Ecuador because at the lowest level, it
recognizes differences in regional floristic composition among
vegetation types of similar physiognomy and structure.
• Work in progress.
• According to Harling’s (1979):
• 16 main vegetation types
Vegetation types
• Mangrove
• Coastal desert and semi-desert
• Savanna and deciduous forest
• Semi deciduous forest
• Lowland rain forest
• Lower montane rain forest
• Cloud forest
• North Ecuadorian grassland and
quebrada vegetation
• South Ecuadorian shrub
vegetation
• Dry scrub vegetation of
southernmost Ecuador
• Inter Andean desert and semi-
desert
• Grass Paramos
• Shrub and cushion paramos
• Desert paramos
• Seasonally inundated areas
Mangrove
• Temperature: 25-28 0C
• Occurs in the salt and brackish
water tidal zone of river mouth
and bays along coasts.
• Location: 0 to 20 meters above
sea level.
• The largest extent of mangrove is
found in Esmeraldas (San
Lorenzo) and in the Gulf of
Guayaquil.
• Large areas of mangroves have
been destroyed and converted to
diked ponds for production of
shrimp, most of which is
exported.
Vegetation
• Mangroves : tall trees over 30m
• Ecuador has 5 species of mangroves:
• Red mangrove (rizhophora mangle)
• Black mangrove (Avicennia germinans)
• White mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa)
• Mangle botón (Conocarpus erectus.)
• Mangle caballero (Pelliciera rhizophorae )
They have developed adaptations that enable them to live in
salty, oxygen poor soil.
 ADAPTATION OF
MANGROVES
• Salt excretion
• Mangroves are adapted to the salty
soils.
• Two types:
• Secretors: actively rid their tissue of
salt
• Non secretors: block the salt from
entering their tissue. The plants
create a barrier and can almost
completely exclude the salt from
entering their vascular system, over
90% of the salt form seawater is
excluded. This barrier acts against
osmosis.
Fauna
• Red crab (Ucides
occidentalis)
• Shrimp (Penaceus sp.)
• Silky anteater (Cyclopes
didactylus)
• Raccons (Procyon
cancrivorus)
• Pericary (Tayassu pecari)
• Sloth (Bradypus variegatus)
• Fishing bat (Noctilio leporinus)
• Green iguana(Iguana iguana)
• Snake (Dipsas temporalis)
• Bushmaster (Lachesis muta)
• Slaty-tailed Trogon (Trogon
Massena)
• Ochraceous Attila (Attila torridus)
• Great Blue Heron (Ardea Herodias)
• Brown pelican (Pelecanus
occidentalis)
• Common black hawk (Buteogallus
anthracinus)
Coastal desert and semi
desert

• Location: center and south of the

Litoral, near the beaches of Manabí
and Guayas, lower zones of
Galápagos.
• Weather: dry and warm
• Temperature: 240 C
• Low rain. Precipitation 500mm per
year
• Vegetation : herbaceous
• Low shrubs and trees
• Holy wood (Bursera graveolens)
• Cactus (Opuntia spp., Jamesonia
spp.),
• Muyuyu (Cordia lutea)
• Rompeolla (Maytenus octogona)
• Capulincillo (Muntingia calabura)
• Perilla (Vallesia glabra)
• Hierba de Tortuga (Batis
maritima)
Fauna
• Continent:
• Great frigatebird (Fregata minor)
• Seagulls (Larus spp)
• Green iguana ( Iguana iguana)
• Galapagos
• Marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus)
• Galapagos land iguana (Conolophus subcristatus)
• Finches (Camarhynchus spp., Geospiza spp)
Deciduous forest
• Location: south of Manabí and southern of “El Oro” and Loja
• 0-700 meters above sea level.
• Temperature: 15-270 C
• Dry and warm weather
• Precipitation: 800-1200mm
• Seasons: rainy and dry (7 months)
• Vegetation:
• Trees and understory shrubs shed their leaves during the
long dry season.
• Bombacaceae tree Ceiba trichistandra with its grotesque,
thick twisted limbs and trunk and green bark, which is
photosynthetic through the dry season when the tree
lacks leaves.
• Guayacán (Tabebuia chrysantha)
• Cachaco (Erythrina poeppigiana)
• 60% of this area has been destroyed by
the human activities, especially:
livestock and agricultural.
• Ceibo (Ceiba trichistandra)
• Palo de ajo (Gallesia integrifolia)
• Majagua (Poulsenia armata)
• Palma real (Attalea )
• Samán (Samanea saman)
 Fauna
• Pez chame (Domitator
latifrons)
• Rana diablito (Oophaga
sylvatica)
• Culebra ciega (Amphisbaena
varia)
• La venenose culebra lorito
(Cathartes aura)
• Gallinazo
• Tucan
• Guatuasa
• Puma
Cloud forest
• Upper montane rain forest-Andes Mountain
• 700-3500 meter above sea level
• Temperature: lower parts 22 higher parts 150 C
• Humid, foggy all the time, thanks to the evaporation of
pacific ocean and evotranspiration of the Amazon collide
against the mountain and that produces fog, or it
precipitates as rain.
• Rain: 2200-1200mm per year.
• Physiognomy
• Trees 30m tall
• Moss
• Orchids
• Bromelias
• Giant ferns
• Preñadilla (Astroblepus
cyclopus)
• Ranita de cristal (Espadarana
prosoble)
• Rana venonosa (Epipedobates
tricolor)
• Pava de monte (Penelope
purpurascens)
• Periquitos (Touit spp.)
• Tucanes (Phampastos spp.)
• Tangaras (Bangsia spp)
• Zarigueya de orejas blancas
(Didelphis pernigra)
 • Location: internal part of the Andean
mountain
• 2400-3000 meter above sea level.
• Temperature: 150 C
North • Precipitations: 800-1200mm
Ecuadorian • Original vegetation was almost entirely
removed during past centuries and replace
Grassland by agricultural plots and pastures. Remnants
and of the original vegetation are now found
only in steep ravines (quebradas) and other
quebrada agricultural marginal sites.
• Dominated visually by stands of Eucalyptus
globulus, introduced from Australia in
1860s.
• Pinus radiata, Pinus patula introduced from
California and Mexico (20th century)
• African grass Pennisetum clandestinum
• Puma maki (Oreopanax avicenniifolius)
• Tocte (Junglans notropica)
• Cucharilla (Oreocallis grandiflora)
• Arrayan (Myrcianthes hallii)
• Cococumbi (Parajubaea cocoides)
• Aliso (Alnus acuminata)
• Mora (Rubus roseus)
• Chilca (Baccharis latifolia)
• Guanto rojo (Brugmansia
sanguinea)
• Taxo (Passiflora mixta)
• Colca (Miconia crocea)
• Cordoncillo (Piper aduncum)
• Guaba (Inga insignis)
Fauna
• Cutines (Pristimantis w-nigrum)
• Jambatos (Atelopus spp., Hydroxalus spp.)
• Rana marsupial (Gastrotheca riobambae)
• Lagartijas (Pholidobulus spp. Riamba spp.)
• Guasgas (Stenocercus spp.)
• Hummingbirds (Eriocnemis spp.
Chlorostibon spp.)
• Güirachuros (Phecticus chrysogaster)
• Puerco espin Quichua (Coendou
quichua)
 Ecosystem located in the lower portions of
the inter Andean valleys, lower than 2400
meters above sea level.
Rainfall less than 300mm
Inter
Andean
desert and Valleys: Guayllabamba, Chonta,
Vilcabamba, Patate y Catamayo.
semidesert
Temperature 15-250 C
• Vegetation is dominated by scattered
low shrubs of Acacia macracantha.
• Mosquera (Croton wagneri)
• Chamana (Dodonaea viscosa)
• Guarango (Caesalpinia spinosa).
• Uña de gato (Imimosa quitensis)
• Cholán (Tecoma stans)
• Sauce (Salix humbolditiana)
• Molle (Schinus molle)
• Hobo (Spondias purpurea)
Fauna
• Rana marsupial (Gastrotheca sp.)
• Colúbridos (Dipsas ellipsihera y
Mastygodryas pulchrisceps).
• Mosqueto rojo (Pyrocephalus
rubinus)
• Sparrow (Zonotrichia ccapensis)
• Tiranolete (Camptostoma
obsoletum)
• Lechuza campanario (Tyto alba)
• Quilico (Falco sparverius)
• Zarigüeya andina (Didelphis
pernigra)
• Chucuri (Mustela frenata)
Páramo

Ecosystem Temperature 3-130 C Strong winds Rain 800mm Intense radiation Low air pressure and
located in the (UV rays) rapid changes in
highest regions insolation, which
means temperature
from 3000m until could be 280 C and
snow line 4500 abruptly changes to
meters above sea Temperature 100 C or
level. less, because of
winds.
 • Types
• Grass paramos
• Shrub and cushion paramos
Páramos • Desert paramos
 • Ecuadorian Andes from about
3400 to over 4000 m elevation.
• Dominted by bunch or tussock
forming grasses:
• Calamagrostis,
Grass • Festuca.
• Taller tussock of Cortaderia are
Páramos frequent at the edges of
paramo,
• Where it borders with patches
of forest or shrubs, and in
disturbed areas such as long
roadrides.
• Halenia
• Gentiana,
• Gentianella,
• Ranunculus,
• Geranium,
• Castilleja,
• Valeriana.
• Scattered small shrubs such as:
• Chuquiragajussieui,
• Baccharis caespitosa, and
• Lupinus pubescens also occur amid the bunch-grasses.
 Shrub and
cushion paramos
• Occur at elevations above the
grass paramo, generally at
4,000–4,500 m.
• Bunch-grasses begin to
decrease in density at about
4,000 m and are replaced by
cushion plants, acaulescent
rosette plants, and low shrubs.
• The vegetation cover is generally
not continuous; bare sandy soil is
exposed between the individual
plants.
• Cushion plants have very small
sclerophyllous leaves, and are
densely branching with short
internodes, so that a dense, pillow-
like mound is formed. The cushion
plant form is evidently an adaptation
to the nightly frosts; the surface of
cushion plants is less exposed to
temperature extremes than adjacent
bare soil.
• Sacha manzana (Hesperomeles)

• Chuquiragua (Chuquiraga jussieiui)

• Valeriana (Valeriana microphyllal)
• Cacho de venado (Halenia weddeliana)
• Achicoria (Hypochaeris sonchoides)
• Achupalla (Puya hamata)
Desert paramo
• Found in the highest elevation of vascular plant growth on the
slopes of the major volcanoes
• 4500-4900m nearly up to the lower limit of glacial ice.
• High winds blow the soil.
• Plant growth is limited by the freezing temperatures.
• Most plants have deep tap roots that anchor them to in sandy
soil.
• Vegetation: herbaceous or woody
• Characteristic species include Nototriche phyllanthos, Astragalus
geminiflorus, Azorella pedunculata, Culcitium nivale, Calandrinia
acaulis, Ephedra americana, and Xenophyllum rigidum.
Fauna
• Cutin • Oso de anteojos
• Guagsa • Danta de la altura
• Colubridos • Venado
• Curiquingue • Lobo de paramo
• Guarro
• Pato del paramo
• Condor
• Cuy
Lowland rain forest
• Located in the Amazon Region (200-400 meters above sea level)
• Esmeraldas adjacent to the “el Choco zone”, lower than 700m above
sea level.
• Temperature 240 C
• Rainy and warm weather.
• Precipitations 3000mm per year
• Vegetation
• Trees 40m tall
• Lianas are common in this area.
• Diversity of trees is very large.
• Yasuni: 477 species in 2,5 hectares
• Microenvironment here: flooded areas such as varzeas, igapos and
pantanos, where can we find different species: Palma del morete
(Mauritia flexuosa), acacia (Macrolobium acaccifolium)
• Chanul (Humiriastrum procerum), Coco blanco (Virola sebifera),
• Pambil (Iriartea deloidea)
• Tagua (Phytelephas aequatorialis)
• Chuncho (Cedrelinga
cateniformis)
• Caoba (Swietenia macrophylla)
• Mamey (Puteria sapota)
• Alcanfor
• Almendro
Fauna
• Amazon river: pirañas
• Reptiles: caiman, gigant anaconda
• Amphibians: rana cornuda
• Pink dolphin
• 75% of Choco has been destroyed
• 10% of amazon region has been destroy to produce petroleum.
1. What are the characteristics of tundra, taiga, deciduous forest, desert, rainforest, grassland?
2. What is the vegetation of tundra, taiga, deciduous forest, desert, rainforest, grassland?
3. What is the fauna of tundra, taiga, deciduous forest, desert, rainforest, grassland?
4. Explain each layer of tropical rainforest, characteristics, vegetation, flora and fauna.
5. What is megadiversity?
6. Why Ecuador is a megadiverse country?
7. What are the factors that allow Ecuador to be a megadiverse country? (Explain them)
8. How many species of plants are endemic of Ecuador?
9. How many species of plants were introduced to Ecuador?
10. What are the characteristics of the classification of the Ecosystems in Ecuador according to Holdridge and
Cañadas, Acosta and Solis, Sierra and collaborators?
11. What is the classification of ecosystems of Ecuador that we are using?
12. Characteristics of Mangrove Ecosystem.
13. What is the adaptation of the trees in the Mangroves Ecosystem?