Landscape patterns and ecosystem service provisioning in a Highland Landscape of northern Ecuador

Andean landscapes represent long-term interactions between people and the natural environment, where agricultural, forestry and livestock production have been key factors shaping landscape dynamics through time. Despite the importance of these systems in the
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provisioning of ecosystem services, there is a poor understanding of the impact of land use change on these ecosystems at the landscape level.
This presentation describes decadal changes in landscape patterns of highland system of Ecuador and relate them to the provision of Ecosystem Services (ES). In particular, this study focuses on native ecosystems as sentinel habitats for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provisioning.
Aspects of landscape structure (area and fragmentation metrics) and stability (Markov transition probability matrix) within the study area were evaluated using official Land Use Land Cover (LULC) data for five administrative boundaries (at the parish level), ranging from 41 to 91 km2. These metrics were then associated with ES proxies.
Preliminary results show that native forest represent less than 10% of the territory, and there was a general trend towards a more fragmented landscape through time. Additionally, there was a general trend of decreasing stability of native forest, with the greatest changes (> 40%) associated with populated centers and occurred during the last period of analysis (2008- 2014). Native forests were converted to up to six land use classes. Loss of stability of native forests (90%) was associated with conversion to few (1 to 3) land use classes, suggesting that large native ecosystem conversion was diverted into specific agricultural activities.
As our understanding of landscape ecosystem services of Ecuadorian mountain ecosystems increases, it will contribute to the broader understanding of global change processes and underpin integrated conservation and management for the maximum benefit to human society.