Global Litter Invertebrate
Decomposition Experiment
Bogotà,
Colombia
Site Manager
Amanda
Varela
Pontificia
Universidad Janeriana
Transversal 29 No.101 A26
Bogotà D.C.
Colombia
Telephone: (+57) 1 3208320 ext. 4078
Site Description
Laboratorio de Ecología de Poblaciones y Comunidades
as a part of Unidad de Ecología y Sistemática
(UNESIS) at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana began their
studies in San Cayetano in 1998. This is a private farm located
near Bogota, the capital city of Colombia. Agriculture and
cattle raising activities are developed in this farm but
a big area is conserved with forest. The forest is a montane
cloud forest and it is part of a remained continuous area
of 80 km along west side of Sabana de Bogota. The forest
cover 1460 ha approximately and had no human intervention
in the last 40 to 50 years. This site is one of the core
sites of the Long Term Ecological Research Network in Colombia.
Site Location
San Cayetano is located in the southwest side of the capital
city (Bogota) in the municipio Bojaca, in a side of the
road connecting Bogotá to La Mesa. Elevation is
2750 m. Coordinates are lat. 04º37’27.4’’N;
long. 74º18’26.8’’W.
Site
Area
San Cayetano has a native forest area belonging to an
area of 1640 ha of mountain cloud forest.
Site
Elevation
Site elevation is in a range of 2600 to 2800 m.
Annual Rainfall
Annual precipitation is 1000 mm approximately. There is
a bimodal scheme of precipitation with two raining periods
in April-May and October-November. There is presence of
fog daily.
Annual Temperature
Annual average temperature is about 12ºC with a daily
range.
Soil
Soils are predominantly Andisols and Inceptisols, well
drained with a high matter content.
Native
Forest/Vegetation Types
Vegetation has four well defined strata: grazing, herbaceous,
shrublike and arboreal. Predominant vegetation families
are Asteraceae, Rubiaceae, Ericaeae, Melastomataceae, Guttiferaceae,
Araceae, Winteraceae and Amaryllidaceae. Some important
tree genera are Palicourea, Basleria, Piper, Solanum, Weinmannia,
Clusia, Tibouchina, Peperomia, Anthurium y Begonia. There
is an important quantity of vascular epiphytes, mosses
and lichens.
Principal
Biome/Ecoregion
This is a mountain cloud forest in the tropical zone
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