Strong effects of a plantation with Pinus patula on Andean subpáramo vegetation: a case study from Colombia Original Research Article

The effect of a pine plantation on a native subpáramo system in the Andes of Colombia (3100 m above sea level) was studied. The vegetation of an 8 year-old plantation with Pinus patula was compared to that of the surrounding native subpáramo. 59 plots made in the subpáramo vegetation contained 121 vascular plant species. These plots were classified into three subpáramo communities and one Andean scrub community. Sixty-four plots made in the pine plantation contained 76 vascular plant species and were subdivided into four classes of pine cover. With increasing pine cover, pine plantation plots tended to become less similar to the subpáramo communities. Habitat-specific subpáramo species tended to disappear with increasing pine cover. After controlling for the effects of environmental variables in a partial canonical correspondence analysis, pine cover had a significant impact on plant species patterns. It is concluded that afforestation with Pinus patula resulted in strong negative effects on diversity and composition of the subpáramo vegetation at the study site.