NEC06630 How does the Paramo capture and store water? The role of plants and people.
Lead Research Organisation:
UK CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY & HYDROLOGY
Department Name: Hydro-climate Risks
Abstract
Páramos are high mountain grassland-peatland biomes (3000m-4000m) that cover a total area of circa 35700km2. They are crucial for the livelihoods and wellbeing of millions of people living in Colombia and neighbouring Northern Andean countries (Venezuela, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru). Páramos are the main source of water in these regions, are used for crop cultivation and grazing and contain a unique source of untapped genetic diversity. While the Páramos have the potential to support, through the exploitation of its biodiversity, local and regional development, the combined pressure of land use and climate change has already degraded many Páramo areas and their potential demise is a cause for concern for many, including local communities, regional and national policy and decision makers and researchers in Colombia. All agree that any future exploitation requires a sustainable approach and that the management of these systems should enhance the Páramo's resilience to climate change.
However, there is still very much which is not known about the functioning of the Páramos and without this knowledge there is a risk that interventions which are designed to achieve sustainability and enhance resilience are not effective or worse detrimental. Páramos are described as sponges that capture and store water from the atmosphere. Few quantitative studies have investigated the mechanisms behind this process and even less is known about the relative role of the plants and the soil of this complex system. Also, Páramos are socio-ecological systems that have been shaped by the human populations that have inhabited them over several centuries. This interaction is continuing to date with local communities relying solely on the Páramo for their livelihoods.
This interdisciplinary 3 year project aims to, jointly with Colombian collaborators, establish how the diversity of habitats and of plants within the Páramos contributes to water regulation, via direct storage in live and dead vegetation and via the supply of organic matter in the soil. We will carry out a large field and drone campaign in the Colombian Páramo Guantiva-la Rusia to collect and analyse data on plants, soil and hydrology. We will carry out satellite image analysis to map landscape scale land cover and peatland condition and improve models so that they better represent the hydrology of the ecosystem. The project will also identify how local Páramo inhabitants, particularly crop and livestock farmers, interact currently with the Páramo ecosystem through their day-to-day farming practices. We will invite local people to participate in workshops and storytelling to jointly discover how they understand they are affecting and are affected by the Páramos' water regulation. We will, as we learn more about the functioning of the Páramo, feedback our findings to the local people and so help them initiate more sustainable solutions.
However, there is still very much which is not known about the functioning of the Páramos and without this knowledge there is a risk that interventions which are designed to achieve sustainability and enhance resilience are not effective or worse detrimental. Páramos are described as sponges that capture and store water from the atmosphere. Few quantitative studies have investigated the mechanisms behind this process and even less is known about the relative role of the plants and the soil of this complex system. Also, Páramos are socio-ecological systems that have been shaped by the human populations that have inhabited them over several centuries. This interaction is continuing to date with local communities relying solely on the Páramo for their livelihoods.
This interdisciplinary 3 year project aims to, jointly with Colombian collaborators, establish how the diversity of habitats and of plants within the Páramos contributes to water regulation, via direct storage in live and dead vegetation and via the supply of organic matter in the soil. We will carry out a large field and drone campaign in the Colombian Páramo Guantiva-la Rusia to collect and analyse data on plants, soil and hydrology. We will carry out satellite image analysis to map landscape scale land cover and peatland condition and improve models so that they better represent the hydrology of the ecosystem. The project will also identify how local Páramo inhabitants, particularly crop and livestock farmers, interact currently with the Páramo ecosystem through their day-to-day farming practices. We will invite local people to participate in workshops and storytelling to jointly discover how they understand they are affecting and are affected by the Páramos' water regulation. We will, as we learn more about the functioning of the Páramo, feedback our findings to the local people and so help them initiate more sustainable solutions.
Planned Impact
Our project's high level goal is to safeguard the sustainable use of the Northern Andean Páramos and so ultimately improve the livelihoods and wellbeing of people living in Colombia and other Andean countries. The proposed research, which aims to substantially enhance current understanding of the Páramos' socio-ecological system, forms a core step towards this goal. The project aims to achieve measurable impact in terms of real changes in people's knowledge, skills and behaviours associated to the Páramos.
Stakeholder groups which we have identified and targeted are:
1.The Páramo Guantiva-la Rusia local farming communities, who rely on the Páramo for their livelihood, will benefit from this project by learning more about their role and impact on the functioning of the Páramo, information which could help support their decision making.
2. The Páramo Guantiva-la Rusia local decision makers, who have a direct impact on the local economy and sustainable use of the Páramo, will benefit by learning about the role of plants and people in the functioning of the Páramo. They will also benefit from the land cover and Páramo status maps and the Páramo valuation the project will produce which will help them in their decision making.
3. Colombian early career scientists and students and who are seeking opportunities for exchanges in expertise within Colombia and between Colombia and UK through collaborations and training. Through the field work bursaries we will be providing opportunities for Colombian early career scientist and students to join the project's activities and so expose them to the expertise of UK and Colombian senior scientists. They will also gain skills and knowledge through informal and formal training that will occur during the planned field campaign and workshops. The four months research visits to the UK offered to 2 Colombian early career scientists will further enhance the exchange of expertise and skills and facilitate international networking.
4. The Colombian community of practitioners and researchers who are interested in Drone technology and are keen to exchange drone experiences through an informal national drone network. This community will benefit from sharing with the UK experiences and from evaluating the collected drone imagery collected by the project.
The project will also be relevant to a variety of other stakeholder groups who will be: for example, national and international NGOs who are concerned with the preservation of the Páramo, or who are interested in the welfare of the local communities; regional and national decision makers and policy makers who are concerned with the sustainable use of the Páramo within the context of the national green economy agenda; private companies for whom the Páramo is a resource of genetic diversity, water or minerals; and the general public (Colombian and UK).
Stakeholder groups which we have identified and targeted are:
1.The Páramo Guantiva-la Rusia local farming communities, who rely on the Páramo for their livelihood, will benefit from this project by learning more about their role and impact on the functioning of the Páramo, information which could help support their decision making.
2. The Páramo Guantiva-la Rusia local decision makers, who have a direct impact on the local economy and sustainable use of the Páramo, will benefit by learning about the role of plants and people in the functioning of the Páramo. They will also benefit from the land cover and Páramo status maps and the Páramo valuation the project will produce which will help them in their decision making.
3. Colombian early career scientists and students and who are seeking opportunities for exchanges in expertise within Colombia and between Colombia and UK through collaborations and training. Through the field work bursaries we will be providing opportunities for Colombian early career scientist and students to join the project's activities and so expose them to the expertise of UK and Colombian senior scientists. They will also gain skills and knowledge through informal and formal training that will occur during the planned field campaign and workshops. The four months research visits to the UK offered to 2 Colombian early career scientists will further enhance the exchange of expertise and skills and facilitate international networking.
4. The Colombian community of practitioners and researchers who are interested in Drone technology and are keen to exchange drone experiences through an informal national drone network. This community will benefit from sharing with the UK experiences and from evaluating the collected drone imagery collected by the project.
The project will also be relevant to a variety of other stakeholder groups who will be: for example, national and international NGOs who are concerned with the preservation of the Páramo, or who are interested in the welfare of the local communities; regional and national decision makers and policy makers who are concerned with the sustainable use of the Páramo within the context of the national green economy agenda; private companies for whom the Páramo is a resource of genetic diversity, water or minerals; and the general public (Colombian and UK).
People |
ORCID iD |
France Gerard (Principal Investigator) | |
Edwin Rowe (Co-Investigator) |
Publications
Correa A
(2020)
A concerted research effort to advance the hydrological understanding of tropical páramos
in Hydrological Processes
Description | Key Objective: Establish and quantify how species- and habitat-diversity and management affect catchment-scale capture and release of water from wetland systems within the Páramos. • A key achievement is the completion of several extensive field campaigns at 12 micro-catchments in the Guantiva LaRusia Páramo complex (Boyaca, Colombia). Drone surveys, soil samples and botanical surveys (145 plots in total) were completed across the catchments, and the majority of the data have been processed and analysed for use in the models (linked OPRAS-TopModel). • Climate and stream flow data collection is still ongoing and instrument maintenance and future data collection will continue by our local collaborator (National University of Colombia) as part of the iMHEA network (a regional initiative for hydrological monitoring). • Another key achievement is the spatial radar-based analysis of the páramo hydro-physical functioning by observing surface motion over time. The work delivered a map for Guantiva LaRusia Páramo complex (1269.34 km²) showing for the first time and in great detail which areas release or store water after precipitation. • A novel soil biogeochemical model (OPRAS) was developed and integrated with the existing landscape hydrology model (TopModel). Parameterisation and validation with field data is ongoing. Once parameterised, it will be possible to use the integrated model (OPRAS -TopModel) to predict the impact of landuse and climate change on the paramo's hydrology and downstream water yield. ODA relevance: The combined data and model development delivered by the project form the basis for generating new insights into the functioning of Páramos. The data also provide an evidence basis for the development of sustainable approaches to Páramo land management, ensuring a continued provision of water and so food and value added employment for many in Colombia (and also Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru) Key Objective: Understand the impact of humans on Páramos' functioning by establishing an informed knowledge of current land uses and water management practices. • The project's key finding was that, within the Páramo context, top down approaches to water and ecosystem governance continue to feed a culture of distrust between communities and government. This, in turn, is impacting conservation and development efforts. ODA relevance: The project's social insights will help individuals and organizations take appropriate action when developing sustainable management strategies in Colombia. Key objective: Achieve impact through storytelling, participatory workshops and student bursaries. • A key legacy of the project is a digital memory bank of the Paramo (https://vimeo.com/user107458608), which is sharing with the public a growing (> 100) number of stories created by local people. Our train the trainer approach has initiated a growing local capacity of story collectors who will continue to add stories to this memory bank. • Project field bursaries have supported 6 undergraduate students in their studies. ODA relevance: feeding back to the local communities people's understanding of Páramos-human relationships and Páramos-usage dilemmas will hopefully facilitate dialogue and promote the development and adoption of sustainable páramo and water preservation methods. |
Exploitation Route | Once parameterised, it will be possible to use the integrated model (OPRAS -TopModel) to predict the impact of landuse and climate change on the paramo's hydrology and downstream water yield. One published the model will be open source and in particular made available to the project's Colombian collaborators. |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Communities and Social Services/Policy Environment Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
URL | https://paraguas.ceh.ac.uk/ |
Description | Final workshops with local communities has increased awareness of the Paramo ecosystem and revitalized existing grass root activities and networks concerned with the sustainable use of the Paramo. A Follow on project called PARAMUNDOS initiated participatory water yield and quality monitoring for one year. This has triggered a growing engagement between the local communities and university staff at UPTC and UNAL with a willingness to collaborate on all things paramo related. There is now an ambition to initiate participatory research to help communities find sustainable and climate resilient options to enhance their lively hoods and well being. |
First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
Sector | Education,Environment |
Impact Types | Societal |
Description | GCRF and Newton Consolidation Accounts CEH |
Amount | £200,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/X52797X/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2022 |
End | 03/2023 |
Title | Drone RGB imagery for 12 micro catchments Guantiva - La Rusia |
Description | Mosaic of drone RGB imagery collected for 12 micro-catchments in January-February 2020; each catchment covers on average 1km2 |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | This data led to a published paper (Zhang et al, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 169 (2020) 280-291). |
Title | Drone point cloud data for 12 micro catchments Guantiva - La Rusia |
Description | Drone point cloud data for 12 micro-catchments Guantiva - La Rusia; derived from RGB imagery using 'structure from motion' approach. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | This data forms the basis for the digital terrain models and vegetation maps that are currently being derived for use in biogeochemistry and hydrophysical catchment model |
Title | RGB Drone derived map of hydrological response units for 12 micro catchments Guantiva - La Rusia |
Description | m resolution RGB Drone derived map of hydrological response units for 12 micro catchments Guantiva - La Rusia (Colombia) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | These maps were derived for use in the biogeochemistry and hydrophysical catchment model (OPRAS-TopModel) |
Title | Sentinel-2 derived map of hydrological response units for Guantiva La Rusia paramo complex |
Description | 30 m Sentinel-2 derived map of hydrological response units for Guantiva La Rusia paramo complex, Colombia |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | The map is used as an input into TopModel |
Description | Blog post - Using drones to capture high definition imagery of the 'micro-cuencas' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Overview of the drone technology and fieldwork practice used in Paraguas |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://paraguas.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-media/news/using-drones-capture-high-definition-imagery |
Description | Blog post - Vegetation surveys in the high-altitude páramos of Boyacá |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Bilingual blog article giving an overview of the methodology employed in vegetation surveys for the project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://paraguas.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-media/news/vegetation-surveys-high-altitude-paramos-boyaca |
Description | Blog post and invitation to collaborate |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Bi-lingual blog post highlighting the inclusion of local stories and call for collaboration from community stakeholders in study region. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://paraguas.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-media/news/paraguas-looking-your-stories |
Description | Colloquium in Sciences 2020: Páramos and Rivers, sources of life of Boyacá |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Project partners presented at the Colloquium on Sciences sponsored by the Banco de la República, (a space for researchers from the Faculty of Sciences of the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia to disseminate their research work to local communities) This included an introduction and information sharing about the project with students and interested parties. This was also made available online. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVVpkcn12Rc&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=EdumediosUPTC |
Description | Corpo Boyaca presentation (Regional Autonomous Corporation of Boyacá) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Corpo Boyaca is giving us the opportunity to present the project to an audience of stakeholders of Boyaca. Corpo Boyaca is holding an on line discussion with local stakeholders with the project presenting. The audience consisting of: • Director of Corpo Boyaca (and other Corpo Boyaca officials); • Majors of towns and municipalities of Boyaca; • Representatives of enterprises of public services; • hopefully also social leaders of veredas; • and relevant Academics. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Key note speaker at XI Colombian Conference of Botany |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Key Note presentation entitled: Remote sensing of tropical vegetation: opportunities and caveats Introducing botany and ecology students and early career researchers to remote sensing. Several individuals came to see me after to discuss research ideas and applications. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://periodicodelmeta.com/unillanos-fue-sede-del-xi-congreso-colombiano-de-botanica-2022/ |
Description | Paraguas - How do the Paramos store water website |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Paraguas project bi-lingual website aims to share progress and information about the project across all stakeholders - including local communities, farmers and scientists in the study area, as well as internationally. 2020 saw over 1,000 new global users to the website, with 40% of users from the project country. Requests to the site have directly related in further action and relationship building. The site is also in use by local business groups. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020,2021 |
URL | https://paraguas.ceh.ac.uk/ |
Description | Presenting Simulating water regulation by soil and vegetation aspect of Paraguas |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation to UKCEH Bangor science meeting |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Presenting and participating to debate at a regional conference organised by Mayor of Santander and UIS (Bucaramanga, Colombia) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Showing PARAGUAS results, I talked about the role of soils in maintaining the water holding capacity and water regulation of the paramo. I also participated to a debate about nature based solutions in the paramo, where I raised the challenge of dealing with unintended consequence. Both activities attracted a wide audience, including undergraduate and postgraduate students, academics, school children and their family, local media, policy makers, general public, NGO staff and grassroots networks. This sparked some follow on one 2 one discussions and expressions of interest to collaborate with the PARAGUAS team. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.bucaramanga.gov.co/noticias/inicio-la-segunda-cumbre-mundial-de-paramos/ |
Description | Project focussed session at the XI Colombian Conference of Botany |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Conference session covering the botany work carried out as part of PARAGUAS project |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://periodicodelmeta.com/unillanos-fue-sede-del-xi-congreso-colombiano-de-botanica-2022/ |