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This work examines the poetry collection Junín (1930) by the Peruvian author Enrique Bustamante y Ballivián (1883–1937). While a part of the Latin American avant-garde expresses a fascination with the rise of new machines in the metropolis, this article demonstrates that Bustamante y Ballivián responds to this trend by representing machinery of a different kind – extractivist machinery – in a different type of space: the Andes. The author also engages with the indigenista avant-garde poetic proposals of his Peruvian contemporaries. Unlike them, the poet does not aim to give voice to the indigenous subject, nor does he idealize or solely link it to nature. Instead, he portrays it as 'coupled' to the mineral extraction machinery. Additionally, the poet depicts this machinery as invasive, contaminating and destructive to the landscape and its inhabitants. This work argues that Junín emerges as the first poetic representation of the ecological impacts caused by large-scale mining exploitation in the Andes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tall, spiky snow structures (penitentes) occur high in subtropical mountains, in the form of blades oriented east-west and tilted toward the noontime sun. By trapping sunlight, they cause a reduction of albedo by ~0.3 relative to flat snow. The formation of penitentes, explained by Lliboutry in 1954, requires weather conditions allowing the troughs to deepen rapidly by melting while the peaks remain dry and cold by sublimation, losing little mass, because of the 8.5-fold difference in latent heats. Lliboutry's explanation has been misrepresented in some recent publications. A concern has been raised that in the low latitudes of Jupiter's moon Europa, the ice surface may have developed penitentes, which would pose a hazard to a lander. They would require a different mechanism of formation, because Europa is too cold for melting to occur. If penitentes are present on Europa, they cannot be resolved by the coarse-resolution satellite images available now, but the high albedo of Europa (~0.7 at visible wavelengths) argues against the existence of such extreme roughness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tall, spiky snow structures (penitentes) occur high in subtropical mountains, in the form of blades oriented east-west and tilted toward the noontime sun. By trapping sunlight, they cause a reduction of albedo by ~0.3 relative to flat snow. The formation of penitentes, explained by Lliboutry in 1954, requires weather conditions allowing the troughs to deepen rapidly by melting while the peaks remain dry and cold by sublimation, losing little mass, because of the 8.5-fold difference in latent heats. Lliboutry's explanation has been misrepresented in some recent publications. A concern has been raised that in the low latitudes of Jupiter's moon Europa, the ice surface may have developed penitentes, which would pose a hazard to a lander. They would require a different mechanism of formation, because Europa is too cold for melting to occur. If penitentes are present on Europa, they cannot be resolved by the coarse-resolution satellite images available now, but the high albedo of Europa (~0.7 at visible wavelengths) argues against the existence of such extreme roughness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research assessed waste-based briquettes consumption compared to conventional fuels in the Andes. Laboratory tests were conducted together with on-field analysis in Colquencha (Bolivia). The laboratory study shows that the performances of briquettes are better in terms of PM2.5 (933.4 ± 50.8 mg kg−1) and CO emissions (22.89 ± 2.40 g kg−1) compared to animal dung (6265.7 ± 1273.5 mgPM2.5 kg−1 and 48.10 ± 12.50 gCO kg−1), although the boiling time increased due to the lower fuel consumption rate and firepower compared to shrubs. The social survey organized with 150 Bolivian citizens suggested that low-income households are not able to pay for an alternative fuel: about 40% would pay less than 4 USD per month, while methane use for cooking is positively correlated with the income level (r = 0.244, p < 0.05). On field analysis suggested that local cookstoves are not appropriate for briquettes combustion since indoor air pollution overcomes 30 ppm of CO and 10 mgPM2.5 m-3. On balance, local small manufactures can be the main target for selling waste-based briquettes to reduce shrubs and wood consumption. However, briquettes production costs seem not yet competitive to natural easy-to-obtain fuels (i.e., animal dung). The research encourages the use of cellulosic and biomass waste-based briquettes in the Andean area for cooking, heating, or manufacturing and strongly advises policy-makers to introduce economic incentives for the recovery of secondary raw materials. • Analysis of waste-based briquettes use in Andean areas were conducted. • Laboratory analysis, social surveys, and on field evaluations are the methods. • Briquettes can be employed for reducing about 30% of the conventional fuels. • The research encourages the employment of waste-based briquettes in the Andes. • Incentives to briquettes production and consumption should be introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Symposium on Andean Geodynamics (ISAG) is an international conference that was held, on average, every 3–4 years in different European cities between 1990 (Grenoble) and 2008 (Nice). These symposia usually offer an opportunity for researchers from Latin American countries and Europe as well as other countries to review the state of knowledge in geosciences on the Andes. After a long period without an edition, the 8th ISAG was organized for the first time in a Latin American country, Ecuador, from 24th to 26th September 2019. The organizing committee led by Pablo Samaniego relied heavily on the Instituto Geofísico of the Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN) and the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), in particular through its office in Quito, and through the Laboratoire Mixte International in France and Ecuador: "Seismes et Volcans dans les Andes du Nord" (LMI-SVAN); and the French Embassy in Ecuador. Field trips in tectonics, seismotectonics and volcanology at emblematic sites in Ecuador were organized by researchers from the IRD (Isterre and LMV), the Institut de Radio Protection Nucléaire (IRSN), IG-EPN and the University of Geneva. Four invited speakers gave presentations: Peter Molnar (University of Boulder) on the mechanisms of the Andes uplift, Suzanne Kay (Cornell University) on its magmatism, Victor Ramos (University of Buenos Aires) on the scientific approaches developed through time for the Andean orogeny and Eric Calais (Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris) on the difficulty of dialog between seismic risk specialists and the authorities in Haiti. The symposium also provided an opportunity for more than 250 participants to meet, with more than 80 oral presentations and over 150 posters. As a result of this conference, the Editor of the Journal of South American Earth Sciences proposed to the organizing committee to publish a special issue on the contours of these presentations. Following the peer review process, 19 papers are published in this special issue. These manuscripts reflect the various disciplinary fields, geophysics and deep imaging, tectonics, volcanism, geomorphology and seismic hazard, from the local scale to the Andes as a whole. Not surprisingly, a higher density of works is found in Ecuador and the northern Andes (Figure 1). As this collection of articles reflects the outlines of a symposium and not a specific scientific question, our aim here is not to develop a synthesis of current knowledge on the Andes. We therefore present these articles in sequence, by discipline, although this categorization may appear subjective since some articles are multidisciplinary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to advance our theoretical understanding of diversifying and homogenizing processes in human societies by exploring the sources of and threats to ethnolinguistic or cultural diversity. Invoking concepts such as ethnogenesis, schismogenesis, and structural transformations, it discusses the parallels as well as the divergences between biological and cultural theory. Models in historical linguistics risk importing unwarranted assumptions about diversification from biological models of speciation. A more pertinent theorization of ethnolinguistic diversity might build on anthropological perspectives such as those of Fredrik Barth, Gregory Bateson, and Claude Lévi-Strauss, all of whom recognized that such diversity reflects interaction rather than isolation. The empirical test of these considerations is the ethnography and history of language use among Indigenous peoples in Amazonia and the Andes. The conclusion is that premodern expansions of language families, in tolerating local cultural autonomy, multilingualism, and diglossia, did not threaten ethnolinguistic identities as has modern globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of human biology has long explored how human populations have adapted to extreme environmental circumstances. Yet, it has become increasingly clear that conditions of social stress, poverty, and lifestyle change play equally important roles in shaping human biological variation and health. In this paper, I provide a brief background on the foundational human adaptability research of the International Biological Programme (IBP) from the 1960s, highlighting how its successes and critiques have shaped current research directions in the field. I then discuss and reflect on my own field research that has examined the influence of both environmental and social stresses on human populations living in different ecosystems: the Peruvian Andes, the Siberian arctic, and the Bolivian rainforest. Finally, I consider how the papers in this special issue advance our understanding of human adaptability to extreme conditions and offer directions for future research. Drawing on our field's distinctive evolutionary and biocultural perspectives, human biologists are uniquely positioned to examine how the interplay between social and ecological domains influences the human condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an exploratory study on the taxonomic diversity of pre-Hispanic archaeofaunas in the South-Central Andes (SCA; western South America) from the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary to the Late-Holocene. The SCA is a complex of diverse environments and has undergone distinct climate events for the last 13,000 years, such as the occurrence of warmer and drier conditions in the Middle-Holocene. The South-Central Andean area was part of the larger Andes interaction area, which was a primary center for animal and plant domestication and the emergence of agro-pastoralist economies. Since subsistence was key to these processes, the SCA provides a relevant case study on the interactions among environment, foodways and sociocultural evolution. Taxonomic diversity was used here as a proxy for diet breadth. A total of 268 archaeofaunal assemblages were sampled from the zooarchaeological literature. Reviewed variables included the cultural chronology and spatial coordinates of the assemblages, as well as the presence and abundance of taxa at the family rank. Taxonomic diversity covered two dimensions: composition (families present in each assemblage) and structure (quantitative relationships among taxa), which was measured through richness (NTAXA), ubiquity and relative abundance (NISP based rank-order). Despite the uneven distribution of samples, the analyses revealed the following trends: (1) a moderate relationship between NTAXA and distance from coastline for most of the Holocene; (2) a potential decrease in assemblage richness for coastal ecoregions during the Late-Holocene; and (3) a generalized increase in the relative abundance of Camelidae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes spatial and temporal changes of aridity in Argentina (1961–2022). The aridity degree, using Climatic Research Unit (CRU) monthly data, was defined through six climate types classified by De Martonne Aridity Index (DMI). Argentina presents a very arid, arid and semiarid region that extends from Puna to Patagonia, alongside two humid and very humid regions: one located in the Chaco-Pampas Plains and Mesopotamia, and another in the Patagonian Andes. Between these regions, there are subhumid areas with marked aridity variations. These structures persist over time, but advances or setbacks were observed in their bordering areas, with significant changes in the Andes (leading to more arid conditions) and the southwestern Pampas Plains (leading to more humid conditions) during the historical period. The contribution of temperature and precipitation changes to these DMI changes was quantified, indicating that precipitation modulated the DMI spatial changes, while temperature intensified or weakened the change magnitudes. The extension variations of the arid and semiarid regions in Argentina were related to three climate variability modes (El Niño – Southern Oscillation [ENSO], Pacific Decadal Oscillation [PDO] and South Atlantic Ocean Dipole [SAOD]). Significant correlations were found with PDO (r < 0) and SAOD (r > 0), which indicate that an increase in the area occupied by arid and semiarid climates are associated with PDO negative phase or SAOD positive phase. Moreover, when these phases occur simultaneously, the expansion of arid and semiarid regions is larger than under the action of an individual forcing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore what campesino [peasant] livelihoods in the rural Andean mountains of Colombia offer to understandings of more-than-human co-existence and care. For, while new conservation paradigms promise to transform economic and social horizons, being "paramuno" [resident of the "paramo," or high moorlands] in the small community of Monquentiva is already characterized by becoming-with-other-beings-and-practices; a disposition toward incorporation of elements that are at-hand, and an ethics of care toward other beings in the landscape. We draw on ethnographic data to present this case study, emphasizing the forms of social organization and persistence that have enabled the emergence of economically and ecologically sustainable livelihoods. We explore these processes in terms of what we call world-making practices, showing how relationships with Indigeneity and collectivity are being renegotiated, and arguing for modes of conservation that engage with existing forms of peasant innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world's glaciers recede in response to a warming atmosphere, a change in the magnitude and frequency of related hazards is expected. Among the most destructive hazards are glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs), and their future evolution is concerning for local populations and sustainable development policy. Central to this is a better understanding of triggers. There is a long‐standing assumption that earthquakes are a major GLOF trigger, and seismic activity is consistently included as a key hazard assessment criterion. Here, we provide the first empirical evidence that this assumption is largely incorrect. Focusing on the Tropical Andes, we show that, of 59 earthquakes (1900–2021) the effects of which intersect with known glacier lakes, only one has triggered GLOFs. We argue that, to help develop climate resilient protocols, the focus for future assessments should be on understanding other key GLOF drivers, such as thawing permafrost and underlying structural geology. Plain Language Summary: Climate change is increasing glacier melt in high mountains and increasing the size and number of glacial lakes. Over time, these lakes may drain catastrophically to generate glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs), which can devastate downstream communities and destroy valuable infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and hydroelectric power facilities. As a result, many risk assessments have been carried out to understand what the triggers of GLOFs might be, in order to better predict their occurrence. One of the main triggers has been assumed to be earthquakes, but this association has not been properly tested. In this paper, we use earthquake and GLOF data from the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes to test this and find that there is little association between earthquakes and GLOFs. We conclude by arguing that focus needs to be on other GLOF triggers, and earthquake activity should be used as a secondary – not primary – indicator in GLOF susceptibility studies. Key Points: Glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are a major risk concern, with earthquakes being commonly considered effective triggers in hazard assessmentsOf 59 earthquakes (1900–2021), the effects of which intersect lakes in the Tropical Andes, only one triggered GLOFsWe suggest that earthquake activity should be used as a secondary – not primary – susceptibility indicator for GLOFs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs the concepts of heritage-making, communal identity formation, and landscape production to analyse the spaces that contribute to local, provincial, and national identities. Specifically, we examine how these spaces, now valued for their natural and historical significance, shape contemporary collective identity. Our study is located in the Andes mountain range, in an area called Manzano Histórico, in central- western Argentina, which is part of a larger nature reserve created to protect the headwaters of the basin and mountain areas from large-scale economic projects. This paper utilises a qualitative methodology that combines archaeological and historical studies with ethnographic techniques and a survey to describe and analyse the millennial occupation of the region. This continuous occupation has been shaped by multiple ways of inhabiting the world, some dominant and others marginalised or made invisible, resulting in ongoing present-day tensions. The heritage landscape proposed is a partial result of these tensions, a textured, fractured, and patched product of diverse, historically enabled practices. By analysing these spaces, we aim to acknowledge the various ways of being in the world that intersect within them, as well as the identity formations of alterity that hierarchise or invisibilise these practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a rapid and low-cost methodology for the purification of genomic DNA from Citrus latifolia, to be used in the molecular diagnosis by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the cause of the disease commonly known as yellow snapdragon. In Venezuela, citrus plantations have begun to be affected by the pathogen CLas, and this work reports the existence of the pathogen in the Venezuelan Andes. Timely diagnosis of the presence of this bacterium will allow preventive measures to be taken to avoid its spread. Leaf samples were collected from Citrus latifolia plants with morphological signs of CLas infection from the Sucre Municipality, Mérida State, Venezuela. Genomic DNA extraction with Chelex-100 (Chelating Ion Exchange Resin) produced optimal DNA that was used as a template for PCR amplifications. The method allowed the detection of pathogen DNA and due to its simplicity contributed to the rapid analysis of a large number of samples, thus being very convenient in molecular diagnosis. The procedure for extraction of genomic DNA from plant tissue using Chelex-100 resin required only one step, with a minimum of manipulation, does not use toxic compounds and allows elimination of a large proportion of inhibitors that hinder the PCR reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timing of Tiwanaku's collapse remains contested. Here we present a generational-scale chronology of Tiwanaku using Bayesian models of 102 radiocarbon dates, including 45 unpublished dates. This chronology tracks four community practices: residing short- vs. long-term, constructing monuments, discarding decorated ceramics, and leaving human burials. Tiwanaku was founded around AD 100 and around AD 600, it became the region's principal destination for migrants. It grew into one of the Andes' first cities and became famous for its decorated ceramics, carved monoliths, and large monuments. Our Bayesian models show that monument building ended ~AD 720 (the median of the ending boundary). Around ~AD 910, burials in tombs ceased as violent deaths began, which we document for the first time in this paper. Ritualized murders are limited to the century leading up to ~AD 1020. Our clearest proxy for social networks breaking down is a precise estimate for the end of permanent residence, ~AD 1010 (970–1050, 95%). This major inflection point was followed by visitors who used the same ceramics until ~AD 1040. Temporary camps lasted until roughly ~AD 1050. These four events suggest a rapid, city-wide collapse at ~AD 1010–1050, lasting just ~20 years (0–70 years, 95%). These results suggest a cascading breakdown of community practices and social networks that were physically anchored at Tiwanaku, though visitors continued to leave informal burials for centuries. This generation-scale chronology suggests that collapse 1) took place well before reduced precipitation, hence this was not a drought-induced societal change and 2) a few resilient communities sustained some traditions at other sites, hence the chronology for the site of Tiwanaku cannot be transposed to all sites with similar material culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intense disputes between companies and the local population have led to new governance regimes, raising concerns about the hydropower business's sustainability, social instability, and violence in emerging economies. New approaches to these issues must go beyond a critical view to be more adaptative and result oriented. This paper explores how the hydropower business's sustainability influences governance regimes on the territory. A cross-case study is applied in the Samaná River basin in the Colombian Andes through a qualitative-quantitative mixed methodology to generate a grounded theory of sustainability and governance in hydropower territories. A qualitative approach was used to produce a framework about territorial factors based on 45 in-depth interviews. The quantitative approach was used as a machine-learning data compression and prediction method. It served as an additional test to extend and reshape the prediction power of the coding. The results suggested three territorial factors of hydropower business as drivers of governance regimes: (1) context variation, (2) the spatial configuration of governance, and (3) the importance of long-term stakeholder interactions. Implications of findings involve addressing power asymmetries and adapting the collaborative dynamics to the territory. This analysis validated a previous interpretative model and proposed sustainability and governance patterns useful in similar hydropower territories in emerging countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last deglaciation, atmospheric CO2 increased by about 75 ppm. The deep ocean is likely the dominant source of this atmospheric CO2 rise in the atmospheric pool; however, a consensus accounting for the entire 75 ppm remains elusive. Since the deep ocean cannot account for the entire 75 ppm, the terrestrial environment likely makes up the remainder. This paper provides a mechanism for an unaccounted-for portion of the source of this terrestrial carbon, that being soil organic carbon (SOC) from the tropical montane Andes, and with that, minimum constraints on the contribution of SOC to the total rise in atmospheric CO2 during the last deglaciation. Using numerical climate modeling input into an empirical model derived from tropical montane forests of the Andes Mountains in South America, this study finds that during the last deglaciation, the organic layer thickness was thinning from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the present (pre-industrial) in the tropical montane Andes. This overall warming and organic layer thickness thinning may have led to a loss of available carbon storage space, causing a leak of CO2 into the atmosphere over this time scale. This study finds an estimate for the contribution of global atmospheric CO2 from SOC in tropical montane Andean soils is likely at least ∼1.4 ppm CO2 since the LGM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Austral Yungas cloud forest (Southern Bolivia and NW Argentina) is known for its high diversity, steep landscape and low accessibility. Anacroneuria Klapálek (Plecoptera: Perlidae) species in this ecoregion have been seldom studied. We aim to know its species diversity (based on adult characters) and explore larval characters important for their recognition. We have reared dozens of larvae from different localities and collected adults with light traps. Reared adults and associated larval exuviae were studied, photographed and drawn. We have identified 13 species (based on male aedeagus) and successfully associated larval and adult stages for seven species. In the present paper we describe seven new species: Anacroneuria tafi sp. nov., A. flavinigra sp. nov., A. saican sp. nov., A. triplex sp. nov., A. calilegua sp. nov., A. lutea sp. nov., and A. tupacamaru sp. nov. For six species previously described we present new data and stage descriptions: A. arrazayalensis Orce, A. handlirschi Klapálek, A. reedi (Navás), A. tucuman Stark, A. saltensis Froehlich, and A. chimborazo Stark. Genetic divergence for some of these species was studied using the barcode region of the mitochondrial gene COI. A key to the male adults of all the species of Anacroneuria from Northwestern Argentina is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen science and related engagement programmes have proliferated in recent years throughout the sciences but have been reasonably limited in the cryospheric sciences. In the semiarid Andes we at the Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas have developed a range of initiatives together with the wider community and stakeholder institutions to improve our understanding of the role snow and ice play in headwater catchments. In this paper we reflect on ongoing engagement with communities living and working in and near study sites of cryospheric science in northern Chile as a strategy that can both strengthen the research being done and empower local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a long history in the use of osseous materials from some of the earliest contexts of the Andes, yet most technology studies have focused on durable materials of ceramic, metal, and stone. In this paper, we present evidence for the continual use of osseous raw materials before and during Wari state expansion in the 1st millennium CE in the Cusco region of Peru. Results indicate that, at the site of Ak'awillay, communities were exploiting osseous raw material to produce artifacts used in textile manufacture, food processing, and ceremonial activities. We argue that wide-scale access to bone and antler raw material fostered social interactions that mediated emergent power dynamics in private and public spaces. This key line of evidence reveals that communal practices in public spaces at Ak'awillay involved food processing activities, while private settings were reserved for sharing of familial knowledge around textile production. We emphasize the greater need in the Andes for a close look at osseous technology to detect these subtle, yet integral patterns to understand social and power relations in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kañawa/Cañihua (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen) is the lesser-known cousin of the domesticated Andean pseudocereal quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.). In 1970, Daniel Gade hypothesized that Andean farmers may have domesticated volunteer wild kañawa plants that occupied quinoa or potato fields after observing that they could survive harsh climatic events such as drought or frost. To revisit this question of kañawa domestication, this paper provides an overview of the current botanical, genetic, and archaeological knowledge of kañawa domestication. It then provides patterns in the presence of wild and domesticated kañawa seeds from archaeological sites in the southern Lake Titicaca Basin of Bolivia, spanning the Formative and Tiwanaku periods from approximately 1500 BCE to 1100 CE. This archaeobotanical evidence supports Gade's hypothesis that kañawa was a later domesticate, not appearing until after 250 CE. Regional paleoclimatic evidence of frequent climatic fluctuations lends support to the argument that kañawa contributed to a diversified food supply, which could provide a buffer against climate risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Returning to Earth's safe operating space requires driving social–ecological transformations toward a new human–nature configuration, while navigating changes and creatively dealing with crises. Family farms in the Colombian Andes have been navigating changes by using modalities of integrated management that recognize family interdependence with nature, which illustrates social–ecological resilience on a small scale. We potentiated family farming by creating FiNCO (Farms for knowledge exchange) as a strategy that renews the connection between disciplines, academia and farmers, and the rural and urban sectors, in order to promote knowledge co-production and landscape stewardship. In this sense, FiNCO is considered as a seed for a good Anthropocene. This paper is an invitation to plant FiNCO seeds in different social–ecological contexts and to share those experiences as an ideal way to create abilities to transform the upcoming humanity challenges into opportunities for humanity's needed transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Andean montane forests are biodiversity hotspots and large carbon stores and they provide numerous ecosystem services. Following land abandonment after centuries of forest clearing for agriculture in the Andes, there is an opportunity for forest recovery. Field‐based studies show that forests do not always recover. However, large‐scale and long‐term knowledge of recovery dynamics of Andean forests remains scarce. This paper analyses tropical montane forest recovery trajectories over a 15‐year time frame at the landscape and tropical Andean scale to inform restoration planning. Methods: We first detect "potential recovery" as areas that have experienced a forest transition between 2000 and 2005. Then, we use Landsat time series analysis of the normalized difference water index (NDWI) to classify four "realized recovery" trajectories ("ongoing", "arrested", "disrupted" and "no recovery") based on a sequential pattern of 5‐yearly Z‐score anomalies for 2005–2020. We compare these results against an analysis of change in tree cover to validate against other datasets. Results: Across the tropical Andes, we detected a potential recovery area of 274 km2 over the period. Despite increases in tree cover, most areas of the Andes remained in early successional states (10–25% tree cover), and NDWI levelled out after 5–10 years. Of all potential forest recovery areas, 22% showed "ongoing recovery", 61% showed either "disrupted" or "arrested recovery", and 17% showed "no recovery". Our method captured forest recovery dynamics in a Peruvian arrested succession context and in landscape‐scale tree‐planting efforts in Ecuador. Main conclusions: Forest recovery across the Andes is mostly disrupted, arrested or unsuccessful, with consequences for biodiversity recovery and provision of ecosystem services. Low‐recovery areas identified in this study might be good candidates for active restoration interventions in this UN Decade on Restoration. Future studies could determine restoration strategies and priorities and suggest management strategies at a local planning scale across key regions in the biodiversity hotspot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aim of understanding the impact of air pollution on human health and ecosystems in the tropical Andes region (TAR), we aim to couple the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) with the chemical transport models (CTM) Long-Term Ozone Simulation and European Operational Smog (LOTOS–EUROS), at high and regional resolutions, with and without assimilation. The factors set for WRF, are based on the optimized estimates of climate and weather in cities and urban heat islands in the TAR region. It is well known in the weather research and forecasting field, that the uncertainty of non-linear models is a major issue, thus making a sensitivity analysis essential. Consequently, this paper seeks to quantify the performance of the WRF model in the presence of disturbances to the initial conditions (IC), for an arbitrary set of state-space variables (pressure and temperature), simulating a disruption in the inputs of the model. To this aim, we considered three distributions over the error term: a normal standard distribution, a normal distribution, and an exponential distribution. We analyze the sensitivity of the outputs of the WRF model by employing non-parametric and robust statistical techniques, such as kernel distribution estimates, rank tests, and bootstrap. The results show that the WRF model is sensitive in time, space, and vertical levels to changes in the IC. Finally, we demonstrate that the error distribution of the output differs from the error distribution induced over the input data, especially for Gaussian distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an interpretation of the intersection of extractivism and frontiers. It explores the effects of the progressive settling of luxury wine tourism and protected areas over small livestock producers associated to grazing systems. We choose a locality at the foothills of the Andes cordillera (Uco Valley), focusing on the site called Manzano Histórico (Historical Apple Tree). The combined use of different research tools (secondary data and documents analysis, in-depth interviews, direct observation, and the production of cartography) permits to observe that these territories --the living space for cattle producers-- have been progressively incorporated to capital and conservation, especially since the xxi century. At present, they express multiple and diverse compression situations on direct producers, that lead in turn to a remodeling of cattle-raising activities keeping pace with high-end tourism. This paper shows that high-end tourism and nature conservation are not opposed but rather mutually reinforcing activities. Also, that direct producers are not victims in lack of agency, since they reshape their productive profiles to take part in the tourism market highlighting their particular traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mountain environments, both temperature and food availability vary strongly with altitude, leading to a major challenge to the thermo‐energetic balance of organisms. In this sense, the behavioral repertoire is crucial for animals' adequacy because it implies a short‐term response in the face of environmental changes. In this paper, we explored the behavioral versatility of Phyllotis vaccarum and Abrothrix andina (Rodentia: Cricetidae), two of the mammal species with the highest altitudinal distribution worldwide. By radiotelemetry, we analyzed the activity pattern, home range, and microhabitat selection in populations of both species inhabiting at 2300 and 3100 m altitude in the Central Andes of Argentina. We found that A. andina was diurnal at 3100 m and cathemeral at 2300 m a.s.l., while P. vaccarum was nocturnal at both elevations. Moreover, home range size was larger in A. andina males at 3100 m in contrast to females at identical altitude and males at 2300 m; while, in P. vaccarum, there were no differences according to altitude or sex. Furthermore, we recorded a complex and species‐specific microhabitat selection pattern at different altitudes. Finally, the magnitude of behavioral variability was higher in A. andina than in P. vaccarum for all the traits analyzed. These results are discussed with emphasis on the impact of behavioral traits and their plasticity for species adequacy in high‐altitude environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional, Indigenous houses in Puno, Peru, were built using adobe bricks, stone, and wood. Today, young Indigenous couples are building houses that utilize modern materials such as concrete, brick, and steel. In this paper, I analyze the effects that changing materialities of house construction practices have on the durability and breadth of kin-relationships in Puno. I argue that these changes are possible due to the kind of personhood that houses occupy within kin networks in the Puno and the Andes. Furthermore, I show how access to new materials allows younger families to build houses more quickly than their parents did, shortening the time to develop stronger kin relationships that were once afforded by building with traditional materials. These new materials affect the house's ability to make and maintain kinship in the future where the quality of kin relationships is directly influenced by the material qualia of the house. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plot-based monitoring has yielded much information on the taxonomic diversity and carbon (C) storage in tropical lowland forests of the Amazon basin. This has resulted in an improved understanding of the relationship between lowland forest biomass dynamics and global change drivers, such as climate change and atmospheric CO2 concentration. Much less attention has been paid to the mountain ecosystems of South America that comprise montane forests and alpine vegetation (páramo, puna, high Andean grasslands, wetlands, and alpine heath). This vegetation complex provides a variety of ecosystem services and forms a natural laboratory along various physiographic, geological and evolutionary history/biogeography, and land use history gradients. Here, we review existing empirical understanding and model-based approaches to quantify the contribution of mountain ecosystems to ecosystem service provision in the rapidly changing socioecological setting of the South American mountains. The objective of this paper is to outline a broad road map for the implementation of mountain vegetation into dynamic global vegetation models (DGVM) for use in Earth System Models (ESM), based on our current understanding of their structure and function and of their responsiveness to global change drivers. We also identify treeline processes, critical in mountain ecosystems, as key missing elements in DGVMs/ESMs, and thus explore in addition a treeline model. Stocktaking of the availability of empirical data was undertaken from eight research sites along the Andes and in south-eastern Brazil. Out of eight sites, two (one each in Venezuela and Brazil) had some climate, ecological and ecophysiological data potentially suitable to parametrise a DGVM. Tree biomass data were available for six sites. A preliminary assessment of the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) DGVM was made to identify gaps in available data and their impacts on model parametrisation and calibration. Additionally, the potential climate-determined elevation of the treeline was modelled to check the DGVM for its ability to identify the transition between the montane forest and alpine vegetation. Outcomes of the evaluation of the JULES land surface model identified the following key processes in montane forests: temperature-related decrease in net primary production, respiration, and allocation to above-ground biomass and increase in soil C stocks with elevation. There was a variable agreement between simulated biomass and those derived from field measurements via allometric equations. We identified major gaps between data availability and the needs for process-based modelling of South American mountain vegetation and its dynamics in DGVMs. To bridge this gap, we propose a transdisciplinary network, composed of members of the theoretical/modelling and empirical scientific communities, to study the natural dynamics of mountain ecosystems and their responses to global change drivers locally, regionally and at the continental scale, within a social-ecological system framework. The work presented here forms the basis for the design of data collection from field measurements and instrumental monitoring stations to parametrise and verify DGVMs. The network is designed to collaborate with and complement existing long-term research initiatives in the region and will adopt existing standard field protocols. Complementary protocols will ensure compatibility between field data collection and data needed for process-based and empirical models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with Los ríos profundos (1958) by José María Arguedas, Peruvian writer and anthropologist. This work is an autobiographical novel and a kind of Bildungsroman whose protagonist is Ernesto, a criollo boy. The main stage is Abancay, where the social structure of discrimination is solid in all spaces such as the school, the city and the hacienda, which is the origin of Ernesto's acute discord with the world. That social structure is revealed more clearly through los colonos, practically enslaved Indians. My opinion for a long time has been that the final part of the work is too utopian, in which, when typhus breaks out, los colonos of the hacienda go to the city without fears asking for mass despite the control of the soldiers. However, considering the reality of the deep Andes of that time, I changed it. Indeed, these colonos did not dare to speak or protest like the wretched of the earth despite so many inexorable exploitations. But with the typhus, they became those who know how to speak and act. According to the concepts of Nelson Maldonado-Torres, one of the important scholars of decolonialism, it can be said that the novel ends with the decolonial turn of los colonos, overcoming their condition of the coloniality of being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of the most intense thunderstorms in the world take place in central and northern Argentina, and their start and development is strongly influenced by the orography of the Andes and sierras de Coórdoba. These thunderstorms are associated with the occurrence of severe weather phenomena that generate important material damages and economic loss in rural and urban areas. The aim of this paper was to do the observational study of the spatial and temporal distribution of different severe weather phenomena, in particular, hail, intense rain and strong winds with gusts. Most of these events took place between the evening and midnight, and also between late Spring and early Summer. At the same time, while studying the occurrence of hail, it was found that its density of accumulation decreased as its diameter increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A companion paper by Lund et al. employed a compressible model to describe the evolution of mountain waves arising due to increasing flow with time over the southern Andes, their breaking, secondary gravity waves and acoustic waves arising from these dynamics, and their local responses. This paper describes the mountain wave, secondary gravity wave, and acoustic wave vertical fluxes of horizontal momentum, and the local and large-scale three-dimensional responses to gravity breaking and wave–mean-flow interactions accompanying this event. Mountain wave and secondary gravity wave momentum fluxes and deposition vary strongly in space and time due to variable large-scale winds and spatially localized mountain wave and secondary gravity wave responses. Mountain wave instabilities accompanying breaking induce strong, local, largely zonal forcing. Secondary gravity waves arising from mountain wave breaking also interact strongly with large-scale winds at altitudes above ~80 km. Together, these mountain wave and secondary gravity wave interactions reveal systematic gravity wave–mean-flow interactions having implications for both mean and tidal forcing and feedbacks. Acoustic waves likewise achieve large momentum fluxes, but typically imply significant responses only at much higher altitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, treelines form a transition zone between tree‐dominated forest downslope and treeless alpine vegetation upslope. Treelines represent the highest boundary of "tree" life form in high‐elevation mountains and at high latitudes. Recently, treelines have been shifting upslope in response to climate warming, so it has become important to understand global tree diversity and treeline distributions. However, to the best of our knowledge, no global database on tree flora of treelines exists, which limits our capacity to undertake macroecological analyses. Here, for the first time, we present a global data set on the trees of the treeline ecotone, supported by an online ToTE database. We synthesized the database from 1202 studies published over the last 60 years (1962 to 2022) following the Preferred Reporting Items in Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analysis (PRISMA) protocol. We classified the tree species in the database into three categories: treeline tree (TL) species, near to treeline (NTL) tree species, and tree species with an upper montane range limit (TUMR). The ToTE Version‐1 presents a total of 208 tree taxa, including 189 species, five subspecies, and 14 varieties, belonging to 54 genera and 26 families distributed across 34 mountain regions worldwide that either grow exactly at the treeline or have a range limit below the treeline. Of the total taxa, 155, 14, and 39 belong to TL, NTL, and TUMR, respectively. Genera such as Abies, Picea, Pinus, Larix, and Juniperus are more represented in the treeline tree category. On the other hand, Acer, Prunus, Populus, and Quercus have more representatives in the near to treeline category, whereas Erica, Nothofagus, and Polylepis contribute more tree species with an upper montane range limit. Furthermore, families such as Rosaceae and Pinaceae include trees that occur both at the treeline and with an upper montane range limit, whereas Sapindaceae includes trees that occur exclusively near to treeline. Our database also includes information on the global distribution patterns of treeline tree species richness across mountains and biomes. The mountains with the highest number of tree species are the Andes (39) followed by the Himalaya (37). Close to 67% of tree species show restricted distributions in different mountains, with the highest endemism in the Andes and the Himalaya. In terms of tree species distribution, Pinus sylvestris was widespread, with a distribution across nine mountain regions, followed by Picea glauca and Fagus sylvatica, both distributed across five mountain regions. In terms of species' distribution across biomes, the temperate biome harbors the highest treeline tree species richness (152 species), which may reflect the fact that the majority of studies are available from the temperate regions of the world. The remaining 56 species are distributed within five other biomes, with the least in dry tropical and subarctic (four species each). Furthermore, currently 40 treeline tree species fall under different International Union for Conservation of Nature threat categories. We anticipate that our database will help advance research on macroecological, biogeographic, evolutionary, climate‐change, and conservation aspects of the treeline on a global scale. The data are released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 international license. Please cite this data paper when the data are reused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper, 'A relational turn for sustainability science? Relational thinking, leverage points and transformations' presents a compelling summary of the incipient relational turn in sustainability science. That piece and the reply and response that follow put forth important arguments about what relational thinking is and how it can infuse sustainability science research. We are grateful for this conversation, but also recognize that crucial intellectual contributions from the Global South require further treatment. In response to West et al'.s invitation to conversation, we offer a summary of a diverse body of scholarship and practice that informs sustainability science in subtle but clear ways: Latin American contributions. We first summarize a set of Latin American theoretical contributions to relational thinking relevant to sustainability science. We then offer examples of how relational thinking infuses everyday life in many Latin American contexts. We close with reflections on the importance of Latin American thinking for sustainability science and transformations toward sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cuisine is a powerful reflection of social and cultural identity. This paper reconstructs culinary change and continuity on the pre-Hispanic north coast of Peru as a window into ancient experiences of collapse and conquest. Using archaeological data from three sites in the Jequetepeque Valley between 600-1500 CE, I identify points of change as well as persistent patterns in how rural farmers procured, prepared, and consumed daily meals. By considering the nature and timing of changes, I suggest that daily meals may have been a site of resistance and an expression of local cultural identity in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores institutional changes in two water users' associations (WUAs) in the Venezuelan Andes. The methodology is based on ethnographic work. The results show that both WUAs have modified the rule systems in irrigation management to respond to economic, institutional and environmental changes. They have implemented a better organization of water sharing, adopted more efficient irrigation technologies, restored infrastructure and preserved high-altitude wetlands. The comparative approach adopted allowed us to show not only the similar factors that promoted institutional change, such as social capital, but also the differences related to the characteristics of the resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Salares Norte (SN) Au–Ag belt is here defined as an Upper Miocene-Pliocene metallogenic area, extending for nearly 200 km, located NE of the northern end of the Upper Oligocene-Lower Miocene Maricunga Belt in the central Andes of northern Chile. The belt is located just east of the main reverse NS fault systems which are part of the Sierra Castillo, Potrerillos Mine and Claudio Gay Cordillera faults, limited to the north and south by the NW-striking oblique to the arc Imilac and Wheelwright-Incahuasi regional faults systems. The epithermal deposits within the SN belt are intimately associated with the occurrence of Middle Miocene volcaniclastic basins and Middle to Upper Miocene phreatomagmatic vents and their related high-sulfidation hydrothermal systems. The volcanostratigraphy of the SN epithermal belt comprises volcaniclastic sequences, subvolcanic and volcanic rocks ranging between the Lower Miocene and the Pliocene. High-angle NS reverse faults involving Paleozoic and lower Cenozoic units form the western-southwestern limit of the belt. Folded and faulted Middle Miocene volcaniclastic and volcanic sequences form the main host rock of at least 4 phreatomagmatic events that generated maar-diatreme fields and discrete maar vents, with their related subvolcanic facies, within the widespread Upper Cenozoic volcanic arc, ranging in age between ca. 15 and ca. 4 Ma. These four phreatomagmatic events are spatially and temporarily associated to 4 main high-sulfidation hydrothermal events which have altered both the phreatomagmatic rocks and the Cenozoic country rock of the explosive activity. These hydrothermal systems have formed dozens of discrete hydrothermally altered areas where argillic, advance argillic, silicification and steam-heated alteration are common. Most of the maar fields and the hydrothermal alteration systems are emplaced within a strike-slip tectonic regime with NE-trending shortening which is accommodated in the NW-striking sinistral-normal faults and NE-striking extension structures. These fault systems crosscutting interaction favor the hydrothermal fluid circulation and migration, as well as mineral precipitation on structural and/or primary lithological traps and on NE-striking tension cracks. In summary, the SN epithermal belt is an almost 200 km long and 60 km wide area, mainly NNE-oriented, where epithermal deposits have formed during the Upper Miocene and Pliocene (ca. 13-4 Ma), emplaced within Middle to Upper Miocene volcanic and volcaniclastic sequences associated to small volcanotectonic basins oriented in NS, NE-SW and NW-SE directions, in which most of the high-sulfidation systems are associated to discrete or repetitive structurally-controlled Upper Miocene-Pliocene phreatomagmatic vents and maar fields. • This paper defines a new Au–Ag epithermal belt in the Central Andes of northern Chile. • Novel results in terms of age, volcanic stratigraphyand hydrothermal alteration. • The relationships between Upper Cenozoic HS epithermal areas, local tectonics and phreatomagmatic volcanism are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation has been central to development. Yet most assumptions around innovation stem from values derived by capitalist economies such as growth, individualism, and competition which prove to only widen inequalities and promote unsustainable environmental models of extraction and consumption. This paper explores what values and assumptions would underlie innovation in development if based on an alternative ontological and epistemological stance linked to the Andean cosmovision of Buen Vivir. We focus on the case of an Indigenous-led initiative in the Andes of Peru to highlight the underpinnings of its innovation processes. In doing so, we aim to contribute to both development studies literature and innovation studies by exposing the limitations to the accepted Western approach to innovation and exploring what decolonising innovation in development would look like. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen science and related engagement programmes have proliferated in recent years throughout the sciences but have been reasonably limited in the cryospheric sciences. In the semiarid Andes we at the Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas have developed a range of initiatives together with the wider community and stakeholder institutions to improve our understanding of the role snow and ice play in headwater catchments. In this paper we reflect on ongoing engagement with communities living and working in and near study sites of cryospheric science in northern Chile as a strategy that can both strengthen the research being done and empower local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to assess the variability of the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of herbivores -guanaco and huemul-in southern Patagonia. The study area extends from the eastern slopes of the Andes to the Atlantic Coast between 47° and 49° S. The ultimate aim of the research was to generate an isotopic ecology with an adequate spatial resolution that allows the incorporation and development of stable isotope studies in discussions of the population dynamics of hunter-gatherers in continental Patagonia. This paper presents the δ13C and δ15N values of 159 guanaco and huemul specimens, both modern and archaeological. This space was divided into three areas: Western area, Central Plateau and Eastern Area. Isotopic variability within groups was analyzed using the SIBER, from which the isotopic niches of the different groups are compared. The results show a spatial pattern of isotopic variability in herbivores, i.e. lower δ13C and δ15N values associated with forest environments in the western end of the transect and higher values, especially δ15N, towards the east, with maximum values observed near the Atlantic coast. Our results support the stated expectations on herbivore stable isotope composition variability and its association with environmental variables in a longitudinal transect across the southern Argentinean Patagonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the importance of the South Central Andean High Puna megapatch, above 4000 masl, in the history of late Pleistocene exploration and colonization of the Atacama Desert, including the contrasting habitats that exist towards the hyperarid Pacific Ocean coast or the ecosystems bordering the tropical forests, on the western and eastern sides of the Andes, respectively. These ecosystems, which were firmly established by the end of the Pleistocene, are examined as key factors in the history of human peopling. The social, demographic and climate conditions associated with the peopling processes are discussed in relation to the appropriate technological, subsistence and settlement strategies developed by pioneer populations, who for their initial settlement selected highly productive patches where water and fauna converged. Based on concepts derived from metapopulation theory, all relevant archaeological paleoecological data from both sides of the Andean Cordillera are presented and discussed. It is concluded that the pioneer occupation of the high Puna megapatch was a gradual process, related to an emergent Andean human mobility system that connected a wide range of altitudinally staggered habitats. Moreover, we suggest that divergent cultural trajectories evolved since the early Holocene, affecting highland, lowland and coastal habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With ongoing climate change, there is a pressing need to better understand how much water is stored as ground ice in areas with extensive permafrost occurrence, as well as how the regional water balance may alter in response to the potential generation of meltwater from permafrost degradation. However, field-based data on permafrost in remote and mountainous areas such as the South American Andes are scarce. Most current ground ice estimates are based on broadly generalized assumptions such as volume–area scaling and mean ground ice content estimates of rock glaciers. In addition, ground ice contents in permafrost areas outside of rock glaciers are usually not considered, resulting in a significant uncertainty regarding the volume of ground ice in the Andes and its hydrological role. In Part 1 of this contribution, present an extensive geophysical data set based on electrical resistivity tomography and refraction seismic tomography surveys to detect and quantify ground ice of different landforms and surface types in several study regions in the semi-arid Andes of Chile and Argentina with the aim to contribute to the reduction of this data scarcity. In Part 2 we focus on the development of a strategy for the upscaling of geophysics-based ground ice quantification to an entire catchment to estimate the total ground ice volume (and its approximate water equivalent) in the study areas. In addition to the geophysical data, the upscaling approach is based on a permafrost distribution model and classifications of surface and landform types. In this paper, we introduce our upscaling strategy, and we demonstrate that the estimation of large-scale ground ice volumes can be improved by including (i) non-rock-glacier permafrost occurrences and (ii) field evidence through a large number of geophysical surveys and ground truthing information. The results of our study indicate that (i) conventional ground ice estimates for rock-glacier-dominated catchments without in situ data may significantly overestimate ground ice contents and (ii) substantial volumes of ground ice may also be present in catchments where rock glaciers are lacking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Mendoza river basin, the occurrence of heavy rainfall events in the summer months causes severe erosion processes, debris flows, and flash floods that modify the turbidity of the Mendoza river. The excess of sediments dragged during the occurrence of these events affects the functioning of the water treatment plants, which causes cuts in the supply of drinking water in the Gran Mendoza area, the fourth most populated city in Argentina. Based on this issue, this paper presents a characterization of precipitation events that affect the distribution of drinking water over the region, considering 13 case studies over the period 2013-2020. High-resolution satellite estimates were used for the quantification of precipitation, which were validated with data from six meteorological stations throughout the basin. Based on a composite analysis considering a set of meteorological variables, two synoptic configurations that favor the occurrence of heavy precipitation were obtained: a mid-troposphere low pressure system off the coast of Chile and a thermal anomaly that generates isolated convection in the valleys of the basin. These results could be used to create early warning systems to improve water resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the spatio-temporal variability of the solar resource is crucial to effectively support solar power utilization. Unfortunately, long-term and high-resolved measurements of solar irradiance are generally scarce, challenging the characterization for larger areas. In this paper, we propose a methodology to characterize the spatio-temporal variability of global horizontal irradiance (GHI) at a regional scale using long-term satellite-derived data. Spatial functional data analysis (sFDA) is used to identify areas with similar intra-annual variability patterns. The methodology is applied to a 21-year period data on Ecuador retrieved from the National Solar Radiation Database. Being the first time that sFDA is used for this purpose, the results indicate that it provides an appropriate basis for the interannual variability and complementarity analyses. In Ecuador's mainland, twenty-two subregions with four seasonal patterns are identified. The highest GHI potential (5.4 kWhm−2d−1) with the lowest variability (3.4%) is found in the Inter-Andean valleys. Further, seasonal complementarities between the coast and western Andes are identified. In Galapagos, high values are found over all islands (≥4.8 kWhm−2d−1), characterized by three subregions with one seasonal pattern. Our findings provide the first comprehensive spatio-temporal characterization of GHI in Ecuador, which aims at supporting a sustainable energy transition in the country. •A new approach to analyze the spatio-temporal variability of GHI is demonstrated. •The GHI variabilities due to microclimate effects in complex terrain are captured. •The findings provide the first comprehensive characterization of GHI in Ecuador. •High solar potential with low variability is found in the Inter-Andean valleys. •Strong seasonal complementarity between the coast and western Andes is identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslides triggered by rainfall are one of the most frequent causes of disasters in tropical countries and mountainous terrains. Recent studies show an upsurge in landslide occurrence as an expected impact of human-induced climate change. This paper presents the analysis and implementation of two different physically-based models, SHALSTAB and TRIGRS, to evaluate the effect of rainfall on landslide hazard assessment in the north-western Colombian Andes. Intensity-Duration-Frequency curves were used in climate change scenarios for different return periods. According to the results, although higher rainfall intensities increase, landslide occurrence does not escalate in a direct or proportional relationship. Considering a steady infiltration process (SHALSTAB), the results show an expansion of d unstable areas, compared with a transient infiltration process (TRIGRS). A greater influence of rainfall duration instead of rainfall intensity was observed. The results highlight the need for studies that incorporate the scenarios of variability and climate change in the hazard assessment and land planning in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shadow-height method has been extensively used to extract the heights of buildings from the shadows they cast in non-stereo (single view) aerial and satellite imagery. However, the use of this method in Earth sciences has been limited, partially due to the relatively low accuracy reported, the fuzziness of shadow edges, the complexities of the scanning sensors, and a lack of software tools. In this paper, we present an enhanced shadow-height methodology offering significant accuracy improvement. These improvements are mainly the result of using a physical approach to model the illumination gradient through the edge of shadows and by leveraging meteorological data to precisely estimate atmospheric refraction. We validated 91 shadow-derived height estimations from images obtained by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) at three sites with latitudes between 33 and 78°S: The Andes Mountains, Sentinel Range, and Abbot ice shelf. Reference measurements were obtained from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) surveys and the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat). The observed errors fell below 6% for small height differences (∼20 m) and below 2% for larger height differences (≳300 m). Our validation data cover solar elevations ranging from 3.7 to 42.2°, and we observed smaller absolute errors at lower solar elevations. This novel information can be valuable for studying surface elevation changes in present and old imagery and extending glacier volume variation time-series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Soils under anthropic uses showed more remarkable changes in soil properties with rainfall seasonality than soils under natural páramo. • Land-use change from natural vegetation to potato and onion crops followed by fallow reduces soil organic matter and water content and increases bulk density. • Land-use change could impair the ability of páramo catchments for streamflow buffering and this could increase surface runoff and reduce base flow. High-Andean páramos deliver essential ecosystem hydrological services from a combination of soil, vegetation, and climate characteristics, particularly in their natural state. However, agricultural activities considerably affect the páramo's ability to store, regulate, and supply water. Although there is information on the effect of potato crops (Solanum tuberosum) on páramo soils' properties, the effect of spring onion (Allium fistulosum) crops has been studied less. In addition, dry páramos are underrepresented in existent páramoś research. This study assessed the effect of rainfall seasonality (RS) and land-use change (transformation from páramo vegetation to crops) on soil hydrophysical properties associated with hydrological services (streamflow buffering) in a dry páramo in the Eastern range in Colombia. Six dominant land uses were studied: natural páramo vegetation (low slope, steep slope, and dense shrublands) and anthropic use (onion crops, potato crops, and fallow). An in-depth random stratified discrete design (0–5, 10–15, and 20–25 cm) was used to collect samples for analysis of soil organic matter (SOM), bulk density (BD), pH, and electrical conductivity (EC). Hydrophysical properties were measured at the soil surface: water retention capacity (WRC), structural stability (SS), and infiltration capacity (IC). Soils under anthropic uses showed more remarkable changes in soil properties with RS than soils under natural páramo. On the other hand, land-use change from natural vegetation to potato and onion crops followed by fallow leads to a reduction in SOM (9.8 %) and an increase in BD (0.19 gcm−3), especially at the surface level. In addition, this leads to a loss of WRC (20 % at field capacity), an increase in unstable aggregates (13 %), water erosion, and a loss of IC (44 mmh−1). This paper demonstrates the impact of land use on soil hydrophysical properties that compromise the maintenance of hydrological services and contributes to a better understanding of the complexity of Andean páramos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite hyperspectral infrared sounder measurements have better horizontal resolution than other sounding techniques as it boasts the stratospheric gravity wave (GW) analysis. To accurately and efficiently derive the threedimensional structure of the stratospheric GWs from the single-field-of-view (SFOV) Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) observations, this paper firstly focuses on the retrieval of the atmospheric temperature profiles in the altitude range of 20-60 km with an artificial neural network approach (ANN). The simulation experiments show that the retrieval bias is less than 0.5 K, and the root mean square error (RMSE) ranges from 1.8 to 4 K. Moreover, the retrieval results from 20 granules of the AIRS observations with the trained neural network (AIRS_SFOV) and the corresponding operational AIRS products (AIRS_L2) as well as the dual-regression results from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) (AIRS_DR) are compared respectively with ECMWF T799 data. The comparison indicates that the standard deviation of the ANN retrieval errors is significantly less than that of the AIRS_DR. Furthermore, the analysis of the typical GW events induced by the mountain Andes and the typhoon "Soulik" using different data indicates that the AIRS_SFOV results capture more details of the stratospheric gravity waves in the perturbation amplitude and pattern than the operational AIRS products do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melastomataceae is a megadiverse family with records of transitions from specialized to generalized pollination systems for several species. These transitions are associated with the colonization of new, unpredictable and/or impoverished pollinator habitats or habitats where specialized pollinators are scarce (e.g., in highland environments). The bee species diversity is low in highlands. Therefore, autonomous breeding systems such as apomixis and self‐pollination emerge in these environments. In this paper, we studied the floral traits associated with the generalization of pollination systems and registered the floral visitors of two species in the Colombian Andes: Miconia cataractae and M. elaeoides. We investigated the breeding system of M. elaeoides. Both species presented small flowers, short anthers of medium pore size, and nectar‐producing stomata on the base of the anthers. Miconia cataractae produced an average of 1.62 μl nectar/flower, a sugar concentration of 6.78%, whereas M. elaeoides produced 0.09 μl nectar/flower, a sugar concentration of 6.13%. We recorded a wide diversity of pollinators for both species, mainly insects from the orders Hymenoptera and Diptera. Miconia elaeoides presented a mixed breeding system and was also capable of setting fruits by apomixis. We conclude that flower and anther morphology, combined with nectar production, thus represent convergent traits resulting in a generalist pollination system shared by M. cataractae and M. elaeoides. Here, we presented the first generalist pollination system recorded for Miconia (and the Melastomataceae) in the Andes, the first report for a species from the small‐pored section Amblyarrhena, and the first report for a species from the large‐pored section Cremanium in Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education was an essential ingredient of the state strategy to address the so-called 'Indian question' in the Americas throughout the first half of the twentieth century. In the 1930s, Bolivian intellectuals promoted a new educational policy inspired by indigenismo, a trend of thought that sought to solve the problems faced by indigenous people concerning welfare, hygiene, agricultural techniques, and land issues; it also sought, to some extent, to teach them to value their own culture. The educational experience, originally conducted in the village of Warisata and then spread across the Andes, has merited special attention from historiography. However, very little is known about Warisata's replication in the country's lowlands. This paper explores the originality, scope, and limitations of the first project of socialization of 'non-subjected' societies of the Amazon Basin. That project was inspired by the postulates of the innovative Warisateño model, which aimed to give birth to a "new Indian" who would contribute actively and voluntarily to the progress of the nation. The categories adopted in that project, and the practices carried out, were inscribed in the positivists' thought, based on their view of the alleged "wild nature" and "savagery" of the groups with whom educators would interact. This study aims to contribute to the debate on the 'Indian question' in the Americas by highlighting the contradictions faced by intellectuals when designing projects for the "integration" of otherness into the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Neotropics, Panopinae spider flies are the most diverse within Acroceridae, specializing as endoparasites of mygalomorph spiders. Camposella insignata Cole, 1919 is one of the most enigmatic flies within this subfamily, given its conspicuously enlarged antennal flagella and apparent rarity, with only two specimens known to this day. This paper describes recently collected C. insignata specimens from the Ecuadorian Andes and provides pictures and measurements. We also discuss the possible function of the enlarged antennal flagella and give recommendations on future collection efforts to increase knowledge about this enigmatic genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we develop a genealogy of practice approach for the historical analysis and comparison of Andean ceramic firing. This effort was set in motion by the similarity of two sets of ash mounds observed in the Lake Titicaca Basin of Bolivia, one modern and one from the Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1100–1450). We eschew an ethnoarchaeological perspective in favor of considering their position within a longer genealogy of potting practice. We argue that a genealogical perspective foregrounds ephemeral evidence that is often ignored in dominant narratives, highlights the emergent nature of practices, and draws attention to subject formation across generations. We examine the extant data for pottery firing in the region, drawing out the genealogy of practices involved in firing facilities and subject formation from the Formative Period (1500 B.C. –A.D. 450) through the present. We then return to the ash mounds, juxtaposing the practices and archaeological traces to consider their historical emergences. These two approaches allow us to begin to map out the particularities of Lake Titicaca Basin production locales and to pose new questions of the social relations associated with ceramic firing contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]