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Copyright of Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales is the property of Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas y Naturales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Since the end of the 20th century, the emblematic Andean bear has become the protagonist of new scientific and political conservation agendas in the Colombian Andes. This article presents an ontological, multispecies, and historical analysis of the encounters between different forms of knowing nature in the páramo of Chingaza, a protected area east of the city of Bogotá. Programs for the conservation of the only species of bear described by taxonomists in South America have raised tensions with campesino communities who give accounts of the existence of two types of bears. Without seeking to "correct" the natural scientists who discard this possibility, this article aims to open up conceptual possibilities that understand the bear as a contact entity in an also multiple páramo.. Combining ethnographic and historical methods, we trace the longer and silenced trajectories behind the practices that support Andean bear conservation in Chingaza today. Observing a recent reorientation in scientific and institutional dialogues with peasant communities, we suggest a shift towards a 'cosmopolitical' conservation capable of articulating the worlds of the campesinos of the high mountains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Luna Azul is the property of Universidad de Caldas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Human beings use Nature in a different way and this defines cultural practices in ecosystems and diverse historical times. Peasant communities have been inhabiting the moors of Colombia for more than 150 years. Historically they have been accused of predators and polluters, but recent experiences identify sustainable practices aimed at satisfying their basic needs, gradually using the elements of their ecosystem, unlike extractivist and infrastructure practices for tourism that damage these fragile ecosystems. The protection of the rights of the peasants can contribute significantly to the protection of the páramos, hence the idea of compatibility between peasant presence and conservation of ecosystems essential for life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Colombiana de Sociologia is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Sociologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Entorno Geográfico is the property of Universidad del Valle and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Páramos are High Andean ecosystems that harbor a diverse biota and have high endemicity, because of their extreme environmental conditions. We used different phylogenetic indices to define conservation priorities in the paramos of the department of Antioquia, Colombia, based on measures of their evolutionary individuality and richness complimentary. To perform the analyses, we generated a database including 416 angiosperm taxa and 1 951 localities for a total of 12 897 distributional records compiled from surveys and reviews. Additionally, the available information in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Colombian Biodiversity Information System were included. From these data, priority areas for the conservation of the paramos located in the state of Antioquia were identified, using measures of evolutionary individuality based on nodes and biotic complementarity. Taking into account only the individual phylogenetic indices, the most important paramo for conservation was Frontino-Urrao, followed by Farallones de Citará. If biotic complementarity is considered, the second most important paramo is Sonsón. Priority classifications of areas based on individuality are congruent with areas of greatest species richness. We conclude that it is necessary and urgent to preserve the paramos given their vulnerability and the subsequent loss of the ecosystem services that they provide, if they are exposed to degradation or disappearance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands are considered globally important for storing carbon, due to the high plant productivity, and low decomposition of organic matter occurring in their flooded soils. Protected areas around the world are being conserved and ecosystems managed to maintain a good state of biodiversity and environmental services; therefore, contributing to carbon storage in these. The aim of this study was to analyze the potential of carbon that could be stored in the high wetlands of the Antisana Ecological Reserve (REA) and the Cajas National Park (PNC) of Ecuador. Wetland with different states of conservation were analyzed in each protected area; the contribution to organic carbon capture was determined through a systematic sampling with field and laboratory work. In the REA and the PNC, the wetland considered "preserved" had the highest organic carbon content. Wetlands have a significant potential for carbon sequestration, but drainage, drying, burning and grazing trigger the release of CO2, thus the conservation of wetlands is critical in regulating the carbon cycle on Earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Gestión y Ambiente is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Santander massif is a strategic area of the Colombian Eastern Cordillera by the presence of mineral and water resources. This study provides structural geology criteria around the Charta area where different faults that have continuity to the west-central part of the massif are identified, and mining projects, páramo zones and water sources for human consumption are located (more than one million inhabitants, including Bucaramanga city). A brittle deformation model was obtained from geological mapping and structural analysis, which is used to explain the distribution and kinematics of geological faults and folds. The three main fracturing trends were analyzed: one towards NNW related to east vergence thrust faults in thick and thin skinned structural style, and two transverse trends towards WNW and NE, exhibiting displacements under a strike slip regime. Areas of high secondary porosity and potentially open zones were identified based on fracture attributes measurement as intensity, density and length, as well as the kinematic analysis and water outcrops; specially related to the NE fracture corridors. Therefore, a hydraulic connection between the high páramo areas and the lowlands is proposed along the NE fracturing trend, which works as channels for groundwater flow and potentially contaminant fluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we established a micropropagation protocol for Espeletia paipana S. Díaz and Pedraza, a critically endangered species with a current population size of 26 adult plants. The primary explants (seeds) used were superficially disinfected with sodium or calcium hypochlorite. The aseptic embryos were cultured on MS media with macroelements at different concentrations, with and without gibberellic acid (GA3), kinetin (KIN), and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). The effects of temperature and light on germination also were examined. For multiplying shoots, we used MS supplemented with IBA and benzylaminopurine (BA). Shoot rooting was attempted by using IBA + BA, IBA, and 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), and different mixtures of peat, mulch and sand were tested for hardening of the seedlings. The results showed that the highest percentage (66%) of aseptic embryos was obtained using 1% calcium hypochlorite. The highest percentage (50%) of germinated embryos was registered using the MS/4 supplement with 1 mg l-1 GA3, and the highest quantity of reactive embryos and viable seedlings were obtained at 24℃ with continual illumination. The best shoot proliferation results were achieved on MS with 0.5 mg l-1 IBA + 0.05 mg l-1 BA, while 85% rooting was achieved on MS with 5 mg l-1 IBA. The highest percentage (65%) of viable seedlings in a growing house was obtained using a mixture of soil enriched with organic matter and mulch in a 3:1 proportion. The proposed protocol may be employed to develop massive propagation programs, which could reverse the trend toward extinction of E. paipana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to show the results of research, which describes the conflicts over land ownership and the consequences that the redistricting process will bring to settled communities and other social actors that converge in the territory of the complex Sonson moors in the states of Antioquia and Caldas. This is in order to provide some items to the problematization of these state exercises, and to manifest the challenge of what the environmental governance of the territories means today, goes beyond the scope of a proposal of delimitation, which is proposed as a managerial procedure, which determines where in the country mining can be carried out, and which requires the fact of hearing the answers from the communities, in view of such initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of Puya from the páramos in the vicinity of Bogota, Colombia, is described. Puya loca differs from all known species of the genus Puya by its ferrugineo-tomentose bracts and sepals abaxially, and deep-purple colored petals. It is, until now, endemic to small isolated patches of páramos North-East of Bogota, in the Chingaza Páramo Complex. It forms dense mats of rosettes on rocky cliffs. The new species is compared to other known species from the surroundings of Bogota, as well as to species with similar colored flowers from other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frailejón (Espeletia spp.) is the emblematic shrub of the paramo. This is an important ecosystem because they are sources of water and organic matter, and are inhabited by a high number of endemic biological species. Considering the importance of the microbiota in soil structure and nutrients availability to support plant growth, we assessed the cultivable microbial populations in Espeletia spp. rhizosphere in Santa Inés and Frontino-Urrao paramos, including functional groups with important role in cycling nutrients. The soil pH was strongly acid in both sites and the organic matter and nitrogen contents were highest in Frontino-Urrao soil. Nevertheless, the microbial abundance was similar in these sites except the content of endospore-forming bacteria, which was 3.8 fold large in Frontino-Urrao. Phosphate solubilizing and cellulolytic microorganisms were found in both sites. Those microorganisms would be used for soil restoration processes in paramos degraded by mining, livestock or agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agriculture as the main activity of rural economic development in Colombia has been implemented with different strategies since pre-Columbian times. The high mountain ecosystems have not been immune to this reality, particularly in the areas of Paramo in the department of Cauca, the attempt to promote an highly productive model with intensive use of soil has led to the detriment of socio-ecological diversity, the rapid expansion of the agricultural frontier in strategic areas, the loss of traditional knowledge on the use of land and low crop yields has resulted in increased incorporation of fertilizer to the ground, threatening these vulnerable systems of the high mountains. However, it is common to find in different locations of Paramo in Cauca indigenous and peasant communities that recognize the need to change production systems that have been employed due to the declining of soil fertility and the limitations on the marketing of their products, in this sense, the institutional support in this process is vital to promote the implementation of sustainable processes using integral strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It were analyzed the agricultural practices and the living conditions of the community from the rural district El Bosque, located in Los Nevados National Park, Colombia. It were applied various tools such as participant observation, semistructured interviews, timelines, maps per rural district and farms, agricultural calendars, activity schedule by gender and structured questionnaires. It was determined that potato crops and livestock are developed as a survival strategy and they are part of the paramo cultural heritage: practices learned from the Green Revolution and the traditional knowledge. These agricultural practices have generated conflicts between ecosystem conservation and improving the quality of life of its inhabitants. From the research it is proposed to implement community management plans, agroecological models, biocultural memory rescue and transformation in the agrarian structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetland bryophyte characterization from the Páramo of Mifafí Valley, located in Mérida, Venezuela, at more than 4.000 m resulted in 13 new bryophytes records for the Mérida State, seven records are new for the country (six mosses and one liverwort). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the favorable economic conditions nowadays in the international market of minerals such as coal and gold, their legal and illegal exploitation in Colombia has been increasing significantly. This mining exploitation has started to cause a serious impact on the environment, especially on water resources; for this reason, directions set forth in the legal system in the search for preserving and protecting the natural environment of high environmental impact activities such as mining should be strictly applied by competent mining and environmental authorities. However, a weak structure of both administrative and financial authorities is observed and this has been reflected on a high index in mining exploitation which is not in compliance with minimum environmental or safety standards and this goes against the human rights associated to a reasonable handling and use of natural resources, human right to water, right to enjoy from a healthy environment, right to an ecologic balance, right to a sustainable development, right to food security, and right to conservation of areas of special ecologic importance, among some other rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the case of Ecuador, important tensions and conflicts have emerged during the last years over the management of hydraulic resources, between hegemonic populated centers such as Quito and rural and peripheral populations where the resources have been extracted, such as the moors of the Canton of Chacos.The contrast between needs and demands emerging between a growing urban Ecuador and an in-construction rural Ecuador sets up an interesting regional and local stage: most certainly a geographical laboratory where we can witness globalization expressing itself in diverse positive and negative facets and where we are faced with the challenge to analyze and propose an equilibrium in distributing fair loads and benefits for the usage, management, and distribution of hydraulic resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work shows the results from a study performed north of the Huancabamba Depression, at El Espino and Palambe Paramos, located in Jaen, Cajamarca - Peru. A total of 252 species from 130 genera belonging to 58 families are reported in this work. 3 new genera and 40 species for the Neotropical paramo have been found. This zone is rich in floristic diversity, compared to other paramos in Peru and southern Ecuador, and due to its endemism levels it qualifies as a priority area for conservation purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Páramos are vulnerable zonal ecosystems located in the tropical mountains of Central and South America, approximately between 3000 and 4500 meters above the sea level. Their special characteristics generate particular floral, ecological, edaphological, geomorphological and climatic typologies. Páramos have great ecologic, genetic and scientific importance due to their endemic flora and landscapes, as well as their socio-economical functions, represented by their fundamental roll in water regulation for water supply in some cities downstream. Some efforts have been done to quantify the water balance in these special hydrosystems. This paper presents an approximation to the hydrologic modeling of these hydrosystems, based on the integration of the AvSWAT model, a horizontal precipitation model, and a geographic information system. As a case study, the upper Blanco river basin was analyzed. This basin is one of the principal areas of the Chingaza páramo, the main Bogotá City water supply source. Protection of these ecosystems is stressed in order to preserve flow regimes, mainly those associated with dry conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first taxonomic study of the genus Festuca in Colombia. A total of 31 native and 2 introduced species were distinguished, including 12 new species (F. boyacensis, F. chita, F. chitagana, F. cocuyana, F. hatico, F. monguensis, F. nereidaensis, F. pilar-franceii, F. sumapana, F. toca, F. venezuelana and F. woodii). The description of each taxa has been complemented with illustrations and data on habitat and distribution. This study also includes a key to all the Colombia species of Festuca. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Las briófitas son un elemento clave en los páramos, allí, la diversidad y biomasa es importante para la retención de agua, refugio para fauna y cobertura y protección del suelo. Muchas de las especies de briofitas de páramos se comparten con la franja superior del bosque montano andino, aunque hay especialistas que solo se encuentran en este ecosistema de alta montaña tropical por encima de los 3000 m. El páramo, se caracteriza por la morfología periglacial, la presencia constante de neblina, y los cambios bruscos de temperatura diaria [1]. La vegetación en el páramo es diversa y su distribución heterogénea caracterizada por un mosaico de comunidades que responden a condiciones climáticas particulares y a los cambios locales en la composición de los suelos. La condición poiquilohídrica y la resistencia a la radiación UV de las briofitas las convierten en uno de los grupos mejor adaptados a las condiciones paramo abierto. No obstante, algunas especies pueden verse afectadas por la variación del clima en escenario de cambio climático, sobre todo en localidades de páramo más frágiles como las turberas. En este trabajo se listan los musgos dominantes de los páramos abiertos, de las turberas alto andinas y de los bosques parameros a partir de los trabajos realizados en los páramos de Venezuela y se discute acerca de la morfología que les permite a los musgos adaptarse a las condiciones particulares de cada uno de estos ambientes. La flora de musgos de páramo es muy rica, cerca del 30 % del total de los musgos de países andinos megadiversos como Venezuela [2], siendo este ambiente una pequeña porción de los territorios de esos países. El conocimiento de la flora del páramo es aún fragmentaria ya que solo unas pocas localidades han sido muestreadas a fondo y todavía se necesitan más inventarios para conocer su diversidad, ecología y tomar medidas para la conservación de este importante grupo de plantas en este frágil ecosistema. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]