Elevated photosynthetic potential in Polylepis reticulata trees from the Andean tree line.

Polylepis reticulata is a vulnerable Andean páramo endemic tree species that grows at the highest altitude in the world. Despite having abundant available water year-round, P. reticulata trees face extreme environmental conditions, namely low temperatures and frequent persistent clouds and fog, which create extremes of solar irradiance.

Ecohydrological assessment of the water balance of the world's highest elevation tropical forest (Polylepis).

Polylepis trees grow at elevations above the continuous tree line (3000-5000 m a.s.l.

Brief windows with more favorable atmospheric conditions explain patterns of Polylepis reticulata tree water use in a high-altitude Andean forest.

Polylepis trees occur throughout the Andean mountain region, and it is the tree genus that grows at the highest elevation worldwide. In the humid Andes where moisture is rarely limiting, Polylepis trees must adapt to extreme environmental conditions, especially rapid fluctuations in temperature, ultraviolet radiation and vapor pressure deficit (VPD). However, Polylepis' water-use patterns remain largely unknown despite the importance of understanding their response to microclimate variation to determine their capacity to maintain resilience under future environmental change.

Frontiers in páramo water resources research: A multidisciplinary assessment.

Interdisciplinary knowledge is necessary to achieve sustainable management of natural resources. However, research is still often developed in an exclusively disciplinary manner, hampering the capacity to holistically address environmental issues. This study focuses on páramo, a group of high-elevation ecosystems situated around ∼3000 to ∼5000 m a.