The American Botanical Garden
In the tropical mountain forests of Ecuador an incomparable species richness can be found. The overall South Ecuadorian province of Loja, particularly the Podocarpus national park, is also called the "American botanical garden". The region counts more then 100 lagoons and is therefore an important water reservoir in Southern Ecuador.
Some 3,000 - 4,000 plant species can be found in the region (twice as many as in whole Germany). Over 560 bird species can be observed in the terrain, which is in some parts hardly accessible.
Species richness due to extraordinary topography
The Andes, up to 6,000 metres high in Northern Ecuador, get lower in the South. The "Cordillera de los Andes" divides the mountain forest in the province of Loja in two climatically completely different regions, the low region (zona baja) in the East and the high region (zona alta) in the West.
In the East of the mountain range, the region, which is 1,000 to 1,600 metres high, is influenced by the Amazonas lowland climate. It is more humid and with an average of 18 degrees much warmer than the Western part of the Cordilleras.
In this colder region, quite other habitats emerge in a height of up to 3,600 metres. The multitude of diverse life conditions in the tiniest region is referred to as a microclimate. It encourages the evolution of endemic species.
The lower height of the Andes range makes migration between the Pacific region and the Amazonas lowland possible.
Protected area for 20 years
In order to protect this unique primeval forest against the impacts of people, in 1982 the INEFAN (Instituto Ecuatoriano Forestal y de Areas Naturales y Vida Silvestre) founded the Podocarpus national park of 146,280 hectares.
The Ecuadorian and American organisation NCI (Natur and Culture International) has operated the ECEF research station since 1997. German and Ecuadorian biologists, ecologists and geologists have been exploring the habitat of the mountain forest.
Retreat area for endangered species
So far, 560 bird species have been registered in the Podocarpus national park.
This is an equal of about 35 per cent of all bird species occurring in Ecuador and 6 per cent of those living worldwide. The endangered bearded penlope barbata, the Andes toucan and over 61 species of the hummingbird live on the rich food offer of the forest.
Vast areas are hardly accessible and therefore not completely explored. The researchers suppose that the tropical mountain forests conceal many unknown bird species.
About 130 bat species occur in Ecuador. Several species live in the national park. These animals, active at night, have a bad image. The most important pollinators of plants have got infamous as vampires.
The mammals that have to rely on the protected area include also the endangered spectacled bears and tapirs. Particularly the tapir had been hunted up to the 1960s because, according to a superstition, its meat and blood help cure many illnesses.
The plants include endangered species as well. The only conifers of Ecuador are the Podocarpus oleifolius and Podocarpus rospigliosi genera. These trees have given the park its name.
The monumental trees have extremely hard and resistant wood. Therefore they are popular as timber and have been cleared by farmers especially in the peripheral areas of the park. Outside of the national park, these trees are virtually extinct.
Meaningful application of scientific results
At the San Francisco station, research does no mean only writing scientific papers on the complex eco-system. The discoveries of international scientists are specifically applied in various regional projects:
In order to improve the bad image of the bats, the biologist Felix Matt takes part at environmental education projects at school in his leisure time.
Ecuador has the highest deforestation rate worldwide. Old pastures are forested mainly with established species like the eucalyptus tree or pine. In co-operation with the University in Loja, NCI strives for an alternative forestation with local tree species.
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