The Impact of Disappearing Tropical Andean Glaciers on Pastoral Agriculture

Start Date: 
07/01/2011
End Date: 
06/30/2014
Science Theme: 
Climate Variability and Change
Ecosystems and Biodiversity Impacts
Vulnerability, Adaptation
Region: 
South America
Solicitation: 
LCLUC-09
Distribution of Project Team Members Institutions
marker Principal Investigator   marker Co-Investigator   marker Collaborator   marker Postdoc Researcher   marker Graduate Student Researcher   marker Other
Team members: 
Person Name Person role on project Affiliation
Daniel Slayback Principal Investigator SSAI, Greenbelt, US
Compton Tucker Co-Investigator NASA, Greenbelt, United States
Karen Mohr Co-Investigator NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, US
Karina Yager Co-Investigator NASA/GSFC, Bowie, US
David Cooper Collaborator Colorado State University, , United States
Bryan Mark Collaborator The Ohio State University, Columus, United States


Abstract: 

The tropical glaciers of Peru and Bolivia are the keystone element of regional pastoral agricultural systems that support large Andean populations. The glacier meltwaters sustain associated alpine peatbogs, and these in turn provide critical year-round islands of nutritious forage for an extensive highland system of pastoral agricultural that has endured for several millennia. However, as rapid climate change continues and tropical Andean glaciers recede, the consequences for peatbogs, and the pastoral agriculture they support, are not well understood. Our proposed research will identify the impacts by first quantifying recent glacier and peatbog landcover change, and then analyzing these changes in concert with data on climate, hydrology, and pastoral production to determine drivers of landscape change and impacts on land use.

Project Research Area: 

Project Documents

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