Ecohydrology of paramos in Colombia: vulnerability to climate change and land use

Abstract

High mountain ecosystems provide many environmental goods and services, particularly hydrological services. Besides the anthropic hazards to these ecosystems, climate change is expected to generate a decrease in runoff in Andean region, including paramos. However, there are not enough information about the hydrological functioning of paramo ecosystems and their vulnerability, to make decisions. This work aims to assess the vulnerability and ecohydrological resilience of Colombian paramo ecosystems to climate change, considering the land uses they have. To do this, we study three paramos: Belmira and Romerales in central and Chingaza in eastern Andes cordillera, we measured several hydro-climatic, vegetation and soil variables during at least two years, and we calibrate the WaSim hydrological model for specific basins in these ecosystems. We used the hydrological model to project the hydrological responses of studied basins with the expected climate changes in Colombian high mountain, in the medium term. Results show that eco-hydrological vulnerability to climate change of paramo of Chingaza is very low and Belmira has a low vulnerability; while the projected changes in Romerales are critical, indicating a very high vulnerability to climate change. The most altered paramos by anthropic activities evidence the loss of some of their hydrological characteristics, which make them more vulnerable to climate change, however, after these ecosystems have been impacted by changes in land use, it is possible to recover most of the properties and hydrological functioning of a natural ecosystem through a conservation or restoration program.