Forests protect aquatic communities from detrimental impact by volcanic deposits in the tropical Andes (Ecuador)

Montoya, Encarni; Matthews‐Bird, Frazer; Brooks, Stephen J.; Gosling, William D.

doi:10.1007/s10113-021-01783-1

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…The Emaotul C/N record shows short-term variability, but no clear directional change is evident following the eruption, with ratio values before and after being ∼13 (Figure 5), a value indicative of a mixed source of organic matter (García-Alix et al, 2012); if there was a post-eruption increase in algal biomass, it is not detectable. As suggested for forested sites in Ecuador (see Montoya et al, 2021), the dense canopy of the forest trees surrounding Lake Emaotul may have partially shielded aquatic ecosystems from major impact by blocking some airborne tephra fall on to the lakes surface. The inconsistent responses of algal productivity to volcanic tephra-fallout recorded to date suggest site-or catchment-specific factors may be important in determining responses.…”

Section: The Kuwae Eruption Led To Significant Changes In Vegetation ...mentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Despite numerous examples of change in vegetation composition (Supplementary Information), recovery rates of vegetation following volcanic eruptions are poorly understood. Palaeoecological evidence of tephra deposition events have typically shown short-lived impacts (decades to centuries, e.g., Lotter and Birks, 1993;Montoya et al, 2021). For example, the main patterns that emerge from analysing large datasets of pollen time-series from tropical forests suggest that forest recovery rates are faster for large, infrequent events, such as volcanic eruptions, than for human-induced burning (Cole et al, 2014).…”

Section: The Kuwae Eruption Led To Significant Changes In Vegetation ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Responses to eruptions often relate to substantial tephra falls and have been documented previously in palaeovegetation records from both continental and island locations (Supplementary Information). For example, in the tropical Andes of Ecuador, a lake-sediment record from a páramo (alpine grassland) landscape showed a slight increase in herb pollen, a decrease in local and longdistance forest taxa, and a relatively quick (<100 years) recovery following volcanic tephra deposition, whereas in a forested, premontane landscape, the forest opened up after tephra deposition and took around 150 years to return to the pre-eruption state (Montoya et al, 2021). On the eastern Atlantic Ocean island of Brava, Cabo Verde, repeated tephra deposition between 1800 and 650 cal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also in Chile, at Lake Galletué, palaeoecological reconstructions indicated that tephra deposition in 1957 CE resulted in a transient increase in nutrients, identified through diatom analysis (Urrutia et al, 2007). Montoya et al (2021) suggested that the vegetation surrounding a lake or within a catchment may be important for creating a barrier against deposition and to reduce tephra runoff into lakes. Laguna Baños, on the Ecuadorian Andean flank, is surrounded by open páramo and thus not protected by a forest barrier, making it susceptible to tephra in-wash.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, there was also a significant shift in chironomid assemblage composition after ash deposition that may have been caused by shallowing of the lake. According to the results of Matthews-Bird et al (2017) and Montoya et al (2021) the chironomid regime shift has still not recovered today, 1500 years later.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Island ecosystem responses to the Kuwae eruption and precipitation change over the last 1600 years, Efate, Vanuatu

et al. 2023

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IntroductionIslands of the Southwest Pacific are exposed to geologic and climate-related disturbances that occur on a range of timescales and which probably affect, to varying degrees, their terrestrial ecosystems. Over the past ∼1100 years we know of two major events in the region: the Kuwae eruption which is thought to have occurred ∼500 cal. years BP and a shift to drier conditions which began ∼1100 cal. years BP.MethodsWe investigated terrestrial and lacustrine ecosystem responses to these events and also to a changing fire regime, likely human-caused, using a multi-proxy (C/N, charcoal, chironomids, pollen, and tephra) record from Lake Emaotul, Efate, Vanuatu.ResultsTephra from the Kuwae eruption was found across a 6 cm layer which our age-depth model suggests was deposited 650–510 cal. years BP (95% confidence). Forest and chironomid community turnover increased during the wet-dry shift 1100–1000 cal. years BP; subsequently, chironomid turnover rates decreased again within <135 years and vegetation had partially (but not fully) recovered after ∼80 years. Following Kuwae volcanic tephra deposition, vegetation turnover increased again, reflecting a reduction in small trees and shrubs and an increase in grasses. Subsequently, the forest vegetation did not regain its previous composition, whereas chironomid community composition remained fairly stable before and after tephra deposition. Within the last ∼90 years, enhanced local burning drove another increase in vegetation turnover.DiscussionTerrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in Efate are sensitive to changes in hydroclimate, volcanism, and anthropogenic fires, although to different degrees; while recent human impacts are often obvious, volcanic eruptions and climatic shifts have also structured Pacific-island ecosystems and will continue to do so.

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Section: The Kuwae Eruption Led To Significant Changes In Vegetation ...mentioning

confidence: 76%