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-Extremeley biodiverse
-High altitude, compared to settlements, mean they act as 'natural water towers'- water sourced by gravity
-Grassland-peatland biome
-Used for livelihoods and wellbeing - intensive livestock, cultivation and land management practices negatively affect Paramos' biodiversity, functional capactiy and water yield.
-Spiritual landscapes
-Main source of water – crop cultivation, grazing
-‘unique source of untapped genetic diversity’
-Functioning of paramo is not fully understood – without knowledge, interventions designed for sustainability could be ineffective or detrimental
-Capture store atmospheric water
-Socio-ecological systems shaped by human populations
-Densely populated areas depend on surface and shallow subsurface water for human consumption, industrial uses and hydropower generation – BUYTAERT ET AL 2006
-Surface water is particularly succeptible to the potential changes in land use and land cover – leading to lower water availability and quality
-HIGH LEVEL OF FRAGMENTATION – historic dynamic landscape, changes in isolation and connectivity defined by complex topography
-Surrounded by low intensity rainfall and frequent fog
-Hydrological response of paramo is strongly related to soil conditions - hydraulic conductivity of soil keeps soil moisture high - Soils are important regulators of runoff production (Harden 2006)
-Organic rich soils are at foot of hill slopes and bottom of valleys- covered in cushion plants, saturated conditions
-Freely drainig soils on hillslopes under cover of tussock grass
-In periods of heavier rainfall, contributing areas of paramo to run off ecxpands and increases connectivity with lateral flow from hillslopes.
-__Bibliography__
-Baruffol, M. (no date) Andean ‘water sponges’: The role of plants in water supply, Kew. Available at: [[https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/paramos-andean-water-sponges]] (Accessed: 07 November 2025).
-https://www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/projects/paraguas
-UK CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY AND HYDROLOGY https://www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/projects/paraguas