In the treetops of Ecuador there is great biological wealth that we want to detail with a study

The canopy is the highest layer of the forest, that is, the treetop. Countless species of both flora and fauna live there. In countries like Ecuador, the wealth found in these cups is enormous, but it is still very unknown. It is that reaching these areas, especially in trees of 40 meters or more, to carry out investigations is complex and requires equipment and trained personnel.

Due to the lack of scientific information, the Great Leaf Foundation has dedicated itself, among other aspects, to collecting data on the canopy. His area of ​​study is the La Esperanza forest, in El Carmen, province of Manabí.

This forest was born as an initiative of Anelio Loor, a member of the foundation who since 1997 has dedicated himself to conserving the area to defend it from the main threats such as logging and destruction of the forest for agriculture.

Currently, in La Esperanza a scientific station has been established where experts, students and interns come to study animals and plants.

In the forest a plot has been designated to study the species of plants that exist and their growth. Within these studies, new species of flora have been found for science.

Great Leaf has proposed the study of the tree canopy, with the technical climbing of these, through the project “Protecting the inhabitants of the Ecuadorian jungle canopy”, who even participated in an international competition to obtain financing, indicates Andrea Narváez, project director of the foundation.

“The long-term project seeks to create ecological corridors connecting the remnants of forests. The current project has three axes: monitoring of canopy fauna, through different monitoring methodologies such as climbing. The second is to identify those plants that serve as food, shelter for animals. We are also going to reforest some patches that are around La Esperanza and in some farms near the forest. The third axis is that there is community participation to improve cultivation and livestock practices in a sustainable way ”, he points out.

He states that they will concentrate on fostering precepts of smart farming that seeks, for example, to rotate sites for cattle to graze.

The study will also reveal more information about the howler monkey that also lives in La Esperanza and whose populations, throughout the country, are seriously threatened. Knowing about the ecology of threatened animals will allow prioritizing the species that must begin to propagate for the ecological restoration of the forest.

The restoration aims to create an ecological corridor so that in the future this forest has connectivity with other forest fragments that are in good condition.

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Nicolás Tinoco, a technician at the foundation, indicates that it is extremely important to study what happens in the treetops in the country, since it is the last frontier of study for specialists such as biologists because of how difficult access is.

“Climbing a ceibo or a guayacán are so large that they encompass their own ecosystem. We can find from amphibians to reptiles, insects, birds, mammals such as bats, rodents. There are also marsupials. Not much is known about the treetops, about how animals live. how do they move, where do they sleep, what do they do”, He maintains.

Tinoco points out that conducting this type of investigation has edges that seem simple, but are complex, such as accessing the base of the trees because technicians must walk up to five hours to reach this area and carrying specialized equipment.

Guayaquileños who have grown up among guasmos, pijíos, ceibos and mahogany confirm the importance of conserving the city’s heritage trees

“It is an equipment designed to climb trees as ropes, arborism harnesses to climb safely and efficiently to reach the canopies. Getting to the glass takes between 15 and 20 minutes, depending on the physical condition and then it is analyzed if camera traps, recorders, insect traps are set, taking the photos. The lack of studies is also due to the technical difficulty that all this represents”, dice.

To this is added the little “interest” that exists to learn the techniques to climb trees. “They must know the types of trees, where to climb, from which branch they can be pushed. It also slows down the financing part a bit, since it is not the same to use a rope for arborism than a strong rope that they sell in hardware stores ”, adds Tinoco. (I)