The interplay of land forms and disturbance intensity drive the floristic and functional changes in the dry Puna pastoral systems (southern Peruvian Andes)

Our research project was aimed at assessing the impact of grazing on dry Puna ecosystem, as understanding and predicting vegetation changes in harsh environments in the face of different disturbance regimes is required for aware and effective management. The study area was the Salinas and Aguada Blanca National Reserve.

Two experimental areas were selected, characterized by deep soils with gentle slopes and by shallow soils with steeper slopes. In each area, sites with low and high disturbance regimes were identified, and vegetation was sampled using 10 × 10 m plots. The results indicated that the environmental constraints have a marked influence on the species composition, while disturbance quantitatively affects diversity.