Ecosystem disturbance and ecohydrological function: local-to-global examples of global change processes that alter ecosystem function in the tropics

Abstract:

Global change disturbances affect ecosystem function in general and, in particular, ecohydrological processes that support key ecosystem services. The drivers of these effects can either be endogenous to a region of interest, including disturbances such as land use and land cover change; or they can be exogenous and include, for example, remote changes in climate forcing that alter ecohydrological dynamics at the local and regional scales. Using the tropical Andes as a focal region of interest, we provide examples of how global-change processes both in and out of the region can affect ecohydrological dynamics and ecosystem function at multiple scales, and how these effects relate the potential risk on ecosystem service provision. At the regional scales, we highlight the regulatory role of the natural forests, such as the Amazon forest, in the dynamics of ecohydrological and ecoclimatic processes that determine key forcings to ecosystem function in the region of interest. Finally, we highlight the role of ecoclimate teleconnections as potential modulators of climate and ecological processes at the global scale. Collectively, we use these examples to illustrate how global change processes acting in multiple scales interact to determine key ecohydrological functions that support ecosystem services in the tropics.