Vegetation and topographic controls on sediment deposition and storage on gully beds in a degraded mountain area

Active gully systems developed on highly weathered or loose parent material are an important source of runoff and sediment production in degraded areas. However, a decrease of land pressure may lead to a return of a partial vegetation cover, whereby gully beds are preferred recolonization spots. Although the current knowledge on the role of vegetation on reducing sediment production on slopes is well developed, few studies exist on the significance of restoring sediment transport pathways on the total sediment budget of degraded mountainous catchments. This study in the Ecuadorian Andes evaluates the potential of vegetation to stabilize active gully systems by trapping and retaining eroded sediment in the gully bed, and analyses the significance of vegetation restoration in the gully bed in reducing sediment export from degraded catchments. Field measurements on 138 gully segments located in 13 ephemeral steep gullies with different ground vegetation cover indicate that gully bed vegetation is the most important factor in promoting short‐term (1–15 years) sediment deposition and gully stabilization. In well‐vegetated gully systems ( ≥ 30% of ground vegetation cover), 0.035 m³ m^–1 of sediment is deposited yearly in the gully bed. Almost 50 per cent of the observed variance in sediment deposition volumes can be explained by the mean ground vegetation cover of the gully bed. The presence of vegetation in gully beds gives rise to the formation of vegetated buffer zones, which enhance short‐term sediment trapping even in active gully systems in mountainous environments. Vegetation buffer zones are shown to modify the connectivity of sediment fluxes, as they reduce the transport efficiency of gully systems. First calculations on data on sediment deposition patterns in our study area show that gully bed deposition in response to gully bed revegetation can represent more than 25 per cent of the volume of sediment generated within the catchment. Our findings indicate that relatively small changes in landscape connectivity have the potential to create strong (positive) feedback loops between erosion and vegetation dynamics. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evolution of the late Pleistocene Mojanda–Fuya Fuya volcanic complex (Ecuador), by progressive adakitic involvement in mantle magma sources

The Mojanda–Fuya Fuya Volcanic Complex consists of two nearby volcanoes, Mojanda and Fuya Fuya. The older one, Mojanda volcano (0.6 to 0.2 Ma), was first constructed by andesites and high-silica andesites forming a large stratovolcano (Lower Mojanda). This edifice was capped by a basaltic andesite and andesitic cone (Upper Mojanda), which collapsed later to form a 3-km-wide summit caldera, after large phreatomagmatic eruptions. The Lower Fuya Fuya edifice was constructed by the extrusion of viscous Si-rich andesitic lavas and dacitic domes, and the emission of a thick sequence of pyroclastic-flow and fallout deposits which include two voluminous rhyolitic layers. An intermediate construction phase at Fuya Fuya is represented by a mainly effusive cone, andesitic in composition (San Bartolo edifice), the construction of which was interrupted by a major sector collapse in the Late Pleistocene. Finally, a complex of thick siliceous lavas and domes was emplaced within the avalanche amphitheatre, forming the Upper Fuya Fuya volcanic centre. This paper shows that the general evolution from an effusive to an explosive eruptive style is related to a progressive adakitic contribution to the magma source. Although all the rocks of the complex are included in the medium-K field of continental arcs, the Fuya Fuya suite (61–75 wt.% SiO₂) shows depletion in Y and HREE and high Sr/Y and La/Yb values, compared to the less silicic Mojanda suite (55–66.5 wt.% SiO₂). The Mojanda calc-alkaline suite was generated by partial melting of an adakite-metasomatised mantle source that left a residue with 2% garnet, followed by fractional crystallization of dominant plagioclase + pyroxene + olivine at shallow, intra-crustal depths. For Fuya Fuya, geochemical and mineralogical data suggest either (1) partial melting of a similar metasomatised mantle with more garnet in the residue (4%), followed by fractional crystallization involving plagioclase, amphibole and pyroxene, or (2) mixing of mafic mantle-derived magma from the Mojanda suite and slab melts, followed by the same fractional crystallization process.     

Age and tectonostratigraphic significance of the Upper Carboniferous series in the basement of the Andean Frontal Cordillera: Geodynamic implications

The age and tectonosedimentary environment of the Palaeozoic sediments on the Frontal Cordillera is not well known and earlier studies have been unable to satisfactorily explain the geological history of the basement of the Andes.In the vicinity of the old Castaño Viejo mine crop out various levels of partially metamorphosed microbialite limestones, which alternate with thin marly–lutitic interstrata. These levels contain abundant palynomorph remains, which allow the series to be dated as Silurian–Devonian. These data, together with the presence of warm climate fossils, lend support to the hypothesis of a major allochtony of the Chilenia Terrane (of which the Frontal Cordillera formed part), relative to the Cuyania Terrane (which included the Precordillera), prior to their amalgamation.Upper Carboniferous palynomorphs found during this study occur in association with resedimented palynomorphs and chitinozoa, of possible Devonian age. This demonstrates the equivalence of both fossiliferous series and their location within the upper part of the Upper Carboniferous Agua Negra Fm. The Silurian–Devonian elements, deformed during a phase prior to the Gondwanic orogeny, were eroded and transported to the foreland basin during the Upper Carboniferous.The palynomorph associations found in all samples correspond to the Ancistrospora palynological zone and to the Raistrickia densa–Convolutispora muriornata Biozone, which are indicative of Upper Carboniferous times. Characteristic forms such as Ancistrospora verrucosa and C. muriornata, both indicative of an Upper Carboniferous age, were found in samples from the Castaño Viejo area.Earlier interpretations of the Frontal Cordillera attributing the sedimentation to a palaeo-latitude at some distance from Gondwana, were based on the presence of Silurian–Devonian hot water stromatolithic limestones. Our results suggest that Cuyania and Chilenia were not necessarily separated by a great distance before their amalgamation. This in turn means that a large ocean was not necessarily consumed in the process.     

Streamflow elasticity,in a context of climate change,in arid Andean watersheds of north-central Chile

ABSTRACT

Based on a future temperature increase of 0.5°C and precipitation decrease of 25%, the climate elasticity of streamflow to precipitation and temperature changes in 12 Andean watersheds of the Coquimbo Region, north-central Chile, was assessed. Also, the possible relationships between this elasticity and specific physiographic characteristics of the watersheds (area, average elevation, slope distribution, terrain roughness, slope orientation, vegetation cover) were studied. Climate elasticity of streamflow ranged between 0 and 2.8. Watersheds presenting higher elevations, with a fairly well-balanced distribution of slope exposure tend to exhibit lower elasticity, which could be explained by the contribution of snowfall to the hydrological regime, more significant in those watersheds. Results should be considered when downscaling climate model projections at the basin scale in mountain settings. Finally, uncertainties in the approach, given by factors such as streamflow seasonality, data availability and representativeness and watershed characteristics, and therefore the scope of the results, are discussed.     

Andean evolution at the Guañacos and Chos Malal fold and thrust belts (36°30′–37°s)

The Andes between 36°30′ and 37°S represent a Cretaceous fold and thrust belt strongly reactivated in the late Miocene. Most of the features that absorbed Neogene shortening were already uplifted in the late Cretaceous, as revealed by field mapping and confirmed by previous fission track analysis. This Andean section is formed by two sectors: a western-inner sector generated by the closure of the upper Oligocene-lower Miocene intra-arc Cura Mallín basin between the middle and late Miocene (Guañacos fold and thrust belt), and an eastern-outer sector, where late Triassic-early Jurassic extensional depocenters were exhumed in two discrete phases of contraction, in the latest early Cretaceous and late Miocene to the Present, respectively (Chos Malal fold and thrust belt). Late Miocene deformation has not homogeneously reactivated Cretaceous compressive structures, being minimal south of 37°30′S through the eastern-outer sector (southern continuation of the Chos Malal fold and thrust belt). The reason for such an inhomogeneous deformational evolution seems to be related to the development of a late Miocene shallow subduction regime between 34°30′ and 37°45′S, as it was proposed in previous studies. This shallow subduction zone is evidenced by the eastward expansion of the arc that was accompanied by the eastern displacement of the orogenic front at these latitudes. As a result, the Cretaceous fold and thrust belt were strongly reactivated north of 37°30′S producing the major topographic break along the Southern Central Andes.     

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of a Páramo Ecosystem in the Northern Ecuadorian Andes 1988-2007

Páramo is a term used to describe tropical alpine vegetation between the continuous timberline and the snow line in the Northern Andes. Páramo environments provide important species habitat and ecosystem services. Changes in spatial extent of the páramo ecosystem at Pambamarca in the Central Cordillera of the northern Ecuadorian Andes were analysed using multi-temporal Landsat TM/ETM+ satellite data. The region suffered a loss of 1826.6 ha or 20% of the total area at a rate of 100 ha/annum during 1988-2007 period. It is found that permanent páramo cover decreased from 8350 ha in 1988 to 5864 ha in 2007 at a fairly constant rate(R2=0.94). This loss is attributed to expansion of commercial agriculture and floriculture in the valleys coupled with increased population pressure. Land at higher elevations has been cleared for small scale agriculture. Loss of the páramo ecosystem will exert a number of negative impacts on ecosystem services and livelihoods of the local population at Pambamarca.     

Adakite-like signature of Late Miocene intrusions at the Los Pelambres giant porphyry copper deposit in the Andes of central Chile: metallogenic implications

Adakite-like features are recognized in the Late Miocene (~10 Ma) porphyritic intrusions of the Los Pelambres giant porphyry copper deposit, central Chile (32°S). Located within the southern portion of the flat-slab segment (28–33°S) of the Chilean Andes, the Al- and Na-rich porphyries of Los Pelambres display distinctly higher Sr/Y (~100–300) and La_N/Yb_N (~25–60) ratios than contemporaneous and barren magmatic units (e.g., La Gloria pluton, Cerro Aconcagua volcanic rocks) of the same Andean magmatic belt. Strong fractionation of heavy rare earth elements (HREE), absence of Eu anomalies, high Sr/Y and Zr/Sm and low Nb/Ta ratios suggest melt extraction from a garnet-amphibolite source. The Late-Miocene adakite-like porphyritic intrusions at Los Pelambres formed closely related in time and space to the subduction of the Juan Fernández Ridge (JFR) hotspot chain along the Chilean margin. Current tectonic reconstructions reveal that, at the time of formation of the Los Pelambres rocks, a W-E segment of the JFR started to subduct beneath them, producing a slow-down of a previously rapid southward migration of a NE-ridge—trench collision. These particular tectonic conditions are favorable for the origin of the Los Pelambres porphyry suite by melting of subducting young hotspot rocks under flat-slab conditions. The incorporation of crustal components into the oceanic lithopheric magma source by subduction erosion is evidenced by the Sr-Nd isotope composition of the Los Pelambres rocks different from the MORB signatures of true adakites. A close relationship apparently exists between the origin of this adakite-like magmatism and the source of the mineralization in the Los Pelambres porphyry copper deposit.Editorial handling: R.J. Goldfarb     

Contribution of non-pollen palynomorphs to the paleolimnological study of a high-altitude Andean lake (Laguna Verde Alta,Venezuela)

This paper evaluates the potential usefulness of non-pollen palynomorphs or NPPs (microfossils other than pollen and spores present in palynological preparations) contained in lake sediments in the paleolimnological reconstruction of high altitude environments (>4,000 m) from the Venezuelan Andes. A synthetic, quantitative approach is employed, instead of the classical analytical and mostly qualitative approach commonly used so far for NPPs. The main sources of variation are the Pediastrum–Botryococcus alternation and the relationship between these two algae and animal remains such as Acari legs, postabdomina of Cladocera, mandibles of other invertebrates, and an unknown type called LVA-1. Other significant microfossils are remains of Rivularia-type and turbellarian oocytes, including Gyratrix. The sequence initiates around 15,000 calibrated years before present (cal BP) with the deglaciation of the lake catchment, high water levels and still cold climates. A phase of lower lake levels was recorded between about 12,000 and 6,000 cal BP. Temperatures increased by around 9,000 and 7,000 cal BP, and then decreased until 6,000 cal BP. Since that time, both lake levels and temperature increased again and stabilized at about 4,000 cal BP, when they reach modern-like values. These results show a good agreement with previous studies based on pollen, diatom and oxygen isotope analyses, and provide additional paleoecological information, as for example the possibility of a previously unrecorded Younger Dryas signal. The inclusion of quantitative NPP analysis in routine paleolimnological studies using synthetic methods is thus recommended. Possible future improvements are suggested, mainly those related with the development and use of NPP modern analogs.     

Grassroots scalar politics: Insights from peasant water struggles in the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Andes

Based on insights from peasant and indigenous communities’ struggles for water in Andean Peru and Ecuador, in this article we argue that the defense of grassroots interests -and with it the advancement of more equitable governance- greatly hinges on the capacity of these groups to engage in grassroots scalar politics. With increasing pressure on water resources in the Andes, the access to water of many rural peasant and indigenous communities is being threatened. The growing realization that their access to water and related interests are embedded in broader regional and national politics, legal frameworks and water policies, has led many communities and peasant water user associations to engage in networks and create alliances with other water users, governmental institutions and non-governmental actors. To better understand these (and other) grassroots struggles and strategies, in this contribution we develop the concept of grassroots scalar politics, which we use as a lens to analyze two case studies. In Ecuador we present how water users of the province of Chimborazo have defended their interests through the consolidation of the Provincial Water Users Associations’ Federation Interjuntas-Chimborazo and its networks. Then we focus on how with the support of Interjuntas-Chimborazo the Water Users Association of the Chambo irrigation system defended their historical water allocation. In Peru we analyze the conformation and achievements of the federative Water Users Association of Ayacucho (JUDRA) and present how the community of Ccharhuancho in the region of Huancavelica, managed to defend its waters and territory against the coastal irrigation sector of Ica.