The variety that cares, S. cordata, It only grows south of Isabela, between the Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul volcanoes, an island with less than 3,800 inhabitants, but with a significant fluctuating population because the main economic income of the region is tourism. During the first half of 2024, the Galapagos National Park Directorate (DPNG) registered the entry of 142,473 visitors.
These trees create microenvironments that allow the growth of other plants. They grow in garúa areas, as they call the drizzle there. The S. cordata They capture water from the environment and distribute it in the soil. In addition, they provide shelter to Darwin’s finches, flycatchers and the witch bird. Its dry leaves, suspended from branches, attract insects and invertebrates, making the system a foraging site for birds.
The plant they care for belongs to a genus exclusive to Galapagos made up of 15 species, most of them are shrubs and three are trees. The S. cordata It can reach 10 or 12 meters in height. Like the shell of turtles, the shapes of their leaves vary depending on the island of origin: some look like spears, others have small irregular notches.
Story of a decline
Three factors fragmented Isabela’s dense forests. First, the installation of human settlements in the humid areas, which over time gave rise to an agricultural area. The first settlers cut down these trees to use them in construction, which, together with the change in land use, reduced the abundance of the species. Then, in the 1980s and 1990s, extensive fires south of the Sierra Negra devastated the remaining forests. After the fire, native plants were displaced by invasive species such as guava (Psidium guajava) and the blackberry (Rubus niveus).
The fragility of islands usually increases with the introduction of species. These often arrive by accident, as stowaways on ships, but they are also brought intentionally. Since the arrival of the black rat and the house mouse in 1600, At least 1,642 species have entered the archipelago, including goats, fire ants, bacteria, fungi, viruses and 820 plant species. Of the latter, about 30 have become invasive and around 50 have the potential to become so. This means that, while they thrive, they disrupt local ecosystems and put native biodiversity at risk.
#scientific #fight #revive #forest #Galapagos #Islands
