The Significance of Successional Forests in Human-Modified Andean Forests Landscape

Abstract

The Colombian Andes has a long history of human occupation and nowadays is characterized by highly transformed landscapes. Many Andean forests, however, are recovering after land abandonment, and these successional forests’ ecological value remains to be determined. Here, we evaluate the trends in successional forest cover change in the Colombian Andes and show that the area covered by regrowing stands increased by about 50% during the last 18 years, becoming an important landscape component. Because seven of the country’s major cities are located in this mountain range, peri-urban forests may play a critical role in the connectivity and integrity of urban-regional landscapes. Despite being surrounded by highly disturbed environments, we show that these peri-urban stands are home to an emblematic diversity, including endemic and threatened species, and exhibit high recovery in terms of ecosystem functioning. We emphasize the need to acknowledge the ecological value of successional forests and study them using a comprehensive approach that considers the socio-economic context.