January 15, 2010

I am off soon for Ecuador again and the Otonga Foundation cloud forest program about 2 hours west of Quito. I plan to spend about two weeks in Ecuador both in Quito and at the Otonga forest. There is a lot of work to do in the Otonga forest including hanging signs along the property line. The Foundation director, and my host in Ecuador, is Bro. Giovanni Onore, missionary and teacher at the Pontifical University of Quito, the funds collected to date made it possible to establish the Otonga Reserve, approximately 1,500 hectares of forest and all its biological wealth. In this portion of tropical forest, several new species are identified every year. The Otonga forest is quite large, but future acquisitions will enable us to merge it with a larger national park that will become an invaluable oasis for plants and animals.http://www.parks.it/world/EC/riserva.otonga/Epar.html, http://www.otonga.org/

It will be difficult for me to update this blog while I am in Ecuador but I will give it my best efforts. Potentially I will only be able to update once I return. This entire area of Ecuador is a treasure of biodiversity and the information I collect will help me connect information from many other areas. On this trip I am most interested to learn more about climate change effects in this locale as well as the reforestation efforts, especially those of economic value to locals instead of the unsustainable banana plantations. Bro. Giovanni is also a globally recognized entomologist and I look forward to some bug collecting with him. His foundation has helped countless numbers of local Otonga and Amazonian inhabitants and their assistance will be invaluable. Otonga will also be the next location to have a 3d quadrat installed to add to my continued systems look at compelling environments.

The Otonga Foresti s situated in the Province of Cotopaxi, at between 1300 and 2300 metres above sea level, about 100 km to the west of the capital city, Quito and at five km from the village of San Francisco de Las Pampas. It consists of 1500 hectares of primari mountain woodland, natural pastures and areas that have undergone reforestation with species coming from nurseries within the same forest.
Otonga includes an area called Otongachi, very near the village of La Uniòn del Toachi. In Otongachi there are about 20 hectares of piedmont evergreen woodland. The Otonga area has typically an irregular landscape with steep slopes and deeply cut valleys. Otonga lies on the boundary of a larger wooded region where there are areas of private property and a state controlled area called the Reserva Forestal del Rìo Lelia. These forests, including Otonga, cover a surface area of 5000 hectares; this in turn is connected to the Reserva Ecologica Los Ilinizas. The interaction between all these primary woodlands allows Otonga to maintain a high degree of biodiversity, thanks to great size of the whole area. However there are serious threats to the natural equilibrium such as poaching, illegal cutting of timber and mining as the region is rich in mineral resources (including gold). In the last 20 years the extension of the forest has been considerably reduced and Otonga region together with the Reserva Forestal del Rio Lelia and the Reserva ecologica Los Ilinizas have become the last refuge of importance for the fauna and flora of the entire region.
At a altitude of 2000 metres above sea level the mean annual rainfall is around 2500 mm and mean humidity about 90%. The average temperature is around 16 °C. The year is divided into two alternative periods: the rainy season, from December to June and the dry season from July to November. Precipitation is frequent and well distributed throughout the course of the year. The region is generally covered by thick cloud and the mist is a distinctive feature of the rain forest (hence the name bosque nublado. Since this area is near the Equator the days will be 12 hours of light and in the mid 70s degress F. Lots of time to work and lots of time to relax at night.

It will be nice to get out of the cold and snow of Maine for the warmth and humidity of Ecuador but I hope that I do not miss any great ski powder days while I am gone.

I am interested to hear from anyone that has experience with reforestation efforts in this area as well as local climate effects. The best read I have found so far is Amazon Expeditions: My Quest for the Ice-age Equator by Paul Colinvaux. If nothing else it is a good science adventure read.