Conservation of priority areas of Polylepis forests in the department of Cochabamba, Bolivia

Polylepis forests in high-Andean areas and considered threatened ecosystems in South America are found in a fragmented scenario maintained by fire and renewal of pastures for cattle and sometimes modified by reforestation practices. Ecological studies are important to help maintain and conserve these forests, thus the present study sought to determine the most relevant guideline in the prioritization of areas for conservation through diversity, abundance and endemism of plants and birds. Survey sites were selected, where each one was characterized during the course of a year employing diverse techniques of standardized evaluation for the groups considered as indicators of the conservation state. For the evaluation of the state of conservation criteria we used: Total loss and fragmentation of each forest, suitability of birds, threatened species and levels of endemism. The results show that two of the studied sites present values between 10 and 20% of loss, value that indicates that they are at the mínimum level, but with high priority of conservation. Fragmentation of these forests is low, with fragments connected, higher than 50%. With respect to suitability, these forests have a medium conservation state, with regular presence (25 to 50%) of characteristic Community birds and/or endemics. The actual threats and the conservation state of Polylepis forests are very high, since it is an endemic or country exclusive.