Articles | Volume 21, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3075-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3075-2024
Research article
 | 
01 Jul 2024
Research article |  | 01 Jul 2024

Vegetation patterns associated with nutrient availability and supply in high-elevation tropical Andean ecosystems

Armando Molina, Veerle Vanacker, Oliver Chadwick, Santiago Zhiminaicela, Marife Corre, and Edzo Veldkamp

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Cited articles

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Amundson, R., Richter, D. D., Humphreys, G. S., Jobbaìgy, E. G., and Gaillardet, J.: Coupling between Biota and Earth Materials in the Critical Zone, Elements, 3, 327–332, https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.3.5.327, 2007. 
Bader, M. Y. and Ruijten, J. J. A.: A topography-based model of forest cover at the alpine tree line in the tropical Andes, J. Biogeogr., 35, 711–723, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2007.01818.x, 2008. 
Beate, B., Monzier, M., Spikings, R., Cotton, J., Silva, J., Bourdon, E., and Eissen, J. P.: Mio-Pliocene adakite generation related to flat subduction in southern Ecuador: The Quimsacocha volcanic center, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 192, 561–570, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012-821X(01)00466-6, 2001. 
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Short summary
The tropical Andes contains unique landscapes where forest patches are surrounded by tussock grasses and cushion-forming plants. The aboveground vegetation composition informs us about belowground nutrient availability: patterns in plant-available nutrients resulted from strong biocycling of cations and removal of soil nutrients by plant uptake or leaching. Future changes in vegetation distribution will affect soil water and solute fluxes and the aquatic ecology of Andean rivers and lakes.
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