Andean grasslands ecosystems are fragile environments with rigorous climatologic conditions and low and variable food for the grazing. The Apolobamba area is located in the Bolivian Andean Mountains. Its high grasslan...Andean grasslands ecosystems are fragile environments with rigorous climatologic conditions and low and variable food for the grazing. The Apolobamba area is located in the Bolivian Andean Mountains. Its high grasslands provide a natural habitat for wild and domestic camelids such as vicuna(Vicugna vicugna) and alpaca(Lama pacos). The botanical diversity plays an essential role in maintaining vital ecosystem functions. The objectives of this research were to determine the seasonal changes in soil properties, to study the vegetation changes during the wet and dry seasons and the influence of soil properties and camelid densities on the vegetation in the Apolobamba grasslands. Four zones with different vicuna populations were selected to be studied. The following soil parameters were determined: total organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable cations, pH and texture. The vegetation season changes were studied through botanical identification, above-ground biomass, plant cover and species richness. Results showed that some soil properties such as C/N ratio, CEC, silt and clay percentages kept stable against the seasonal changes. Generally, soil nutrients were relatively higher during the dry season in the surface and subsurface. The results did not point out the predominant vegetation growth during the wet season. The seasonal vegetation growth depended on each species. Thegood soil fertility corresponded to the highest plant cover. Soil fertility presented no influence on the above-ground biomass of the collected species. The negative influence of camelid grazing on soil properties could not be assessed. However, overgrazing could affect some plant species. Therefore, protection is needed in order to preserve the biodiversity in the Andean mountain grasslands.展开更多
INTRODUCTION.Placentophagy is the consumption by peripartum females of all or some placental components soon after giving birth(Kristal 1980).It is a widespread behavior across eutherian mammals with the exception of ...INTRODUCTION.Placentophagy is the consumption by peripartum females of all or some placental components soon after giving birth(Kristal 1980).It is a widespread behavior across eutherian mammals with the exception of cetaceans and domesticated camelids(Kristal 1980;Vaughan&Tibary 2006).Another notable exception is in humans but is a culturally determined practice due to health benefits(Farr et al.2018)and traditional medicine(Ober 1979).In nonhuman primates,placentophagy has been recorded across diverse taxa—from great apes(chimpanzee,e.g.Goodall&Athumani 1980;Fujisawa et al.2016,bonobo,Douglas 2014,gorilla,Stewart 1984,and orangutan,Galdikas 1982),gibbons(Hylobatidae)(Hayssen et al.2019),old world monkeys(Cercopithecidae)(Turner et al.2010;Yao et al.2012;Ding et al.2013)to new world monkeys(Callitrichidae,Hayssen et al.展开更多
基金the Spanish Agency of Cooperation and Development (AECID)
文摘Andean grasslands ecosystems are fragile environments with rigorous climatologic conditions and low and variable food for the grazing. The Apolobamba area is located in the Bolivian Andean Mountains. Its high grasslands provide a natural habitat for wild and domestic camelids such as vicuna(Vicugna vicugna) and alpaca(Lama pacos). The botanical diversity plays an essential role in maintaining vital ecosystem functions. The objectives of this research were to determine the seasonal changes in soil properties, to study the vegetation changes during the wet and dry seasons and the influence of soil properties and camelid densities on the vegetation in the Apolobamba grasslands. Four zones with different vicuna populations were selected to be studied. The following soil parameters were determined: total organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable cations, pH and texture. The vegetation season changes were studied through botanical identification, above-ground biomass, plant cover and species richness. Results showed that some soil properties such as C/N ratio, CEC, silt and clay percentages kept stable against the seasonal changes. Generally, soil nutrients were relatively higher during the dry season in the surface and subsurface. The results did not point out the predominant vegetation growth during the wet season. The seasonal vegetation growth depended on each species. Thegood soil fertility corresponded to the highest plant cover. Soil fertility presented no influence on the above-ground biomass of the collected species. The negative influence of camelid grazing on soil properties could not be assessed. However, overgrazing could affect some plant species. Therefore, protection is needed in order to preserve the biodiversity in the Andean mountain grasslands.
基金funded by the Xi’an Science and Technology Plan Project(2023JH-GHZ1-0004)the Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(32220103002,32370534,32371563).
文摘INTRODUCTION.Placentophagy is the consumption by peripartum females of all or some placental components soon after giving birth(Kristal 1980).It is a widespread behavior across eutherian mammals with the exception of cetaceans and domesticated camelids(Kristal 1980;Vaughan&Tibary 2006).Another notable exception is in humans but is a culturally determined practice due to health benefits(Farr et al.2018)and traditional medicine(Ober 1979).In nonhuman primates,placentophagy has been recorded across diverse taxa—from great apes(chimpanzee,e.g.Goodall&Athumani 1980;Fujisawa et al.2016,bonobo,Douglas 2014,gorilla,Stewart 1984,and orangutan,Galdikas 1982),gibbons(Hylobatidae)(Hayssen et al.2019),old world monkeys(Cercopithecidae)(Turner et al.2010;Yao et al.2012;Ding et al.2013)to new world monkeys(Callitrichidae,Hayssen et al.
