Estudio multidisciplinario de los impactos ambientales en bofedales y sus medidas de restauración ecológica en la zona altoandina del Perú

Abstract

Bofedales are ecosystems found in the Andes with herbaceous vegetation, located on flat terrain and constantly saturated with water. The organic soils in these areas can be deep, such as in peatlands. This ecosystem, classified as an Andean wetland, has dense and compact vegetation, with herbaceous growth ranging from 0.5 to 0.1 meters in height. In the High-Andean Zone of Peru, bofedales perform vital functions by storing water resources and hosting high biodiversity. They serve as a habitat for high-quality forage species crucial for livestock, support a significant grazing capacity, and are the primary habitat for camelids (alpacas), making them indispensable for high-Andean communities. Economic activities such as overgrazing, mining, and livestock farming are causing significant impacts, potentially damaging vegetation and leading to species extinction. Addressing these issues is essential to ensure the conservation of these ecosystems. Restore negative impacts and promote the long-term sustainability of natural resources through integrated actions, these include assessing biodiversity and water quality and adopting carbon capture strategies. Such measures seek to mitigate adverse environmental effects and restore essential ecosystem services, critical for human well-being and biodiversity preservation. This state of the art seeks to compile information on the environmental impacts affecting bofedales, as these impacts not only harm biodiversity but also lead to consequences such as climate change, soil degradation, species extinction, and resource depletion. It is important to highlight that bofedales are high-Andean ecosystems of significant environmental, social, and economic relevance.