Plant communities and land use history of the lower montane tropical cloud forests of the Andes of Mérida, Venezuela

Summary

The general aims of this study are to obtain knowledge of the flora and environment of the study area, the floristic composition of the plant communities, vegetation patterns of a cultural mountain landscape, and the related history and the current land use situation. Based upon these results, conclusions will be drawn for sustainable land use techniques and political decisions made within the framework of regional planning. Deforestation must be reduced, as a consequence of which the biodiversity, soils and water will be preserved. The study will be carried out in villages situated in the low cloud forests (Piedemonte Andino) of Venezuela. The specific objectives are to:

• study the flora and environment of the area;
• to analyse the plant communities of the cultural landscapes surrounding mountain villages;
• to relate the existing plant communities to specific soils, topographies, and land uses;
• to quantifiy the frequency and landscape pattern of land use types, to specify the frequencies and intensities of human impacts, and relate these to floristic patterns and vegetation types;
• to construct successional processes on the basis of comparing existing plots with varying land use histories;
• to generate maps of abiotic conditions, vegetation patterns, and land uses using GIS techniques;
• to draw conclusions in terms of sustainable, site-adapted land use, including the long-term preservation of soil, water, and biodiversity.