Climate change and limited dispersal doom Andean Giant Plant: urgent conservation needed
image: Combining topographic preferences of endangered high-elevation Puya raimondii rosettes, seed dispersal distances, and future climate scenarios, we project habitat availability in the year 2100 in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru. We predict a significant decrease in occupied habitat patches, with almost complete loss for the +5°C climate change scenario.
Credit: Paul M. Ramsay, Gerson E. Prado, Liscely Tumi, Giovana P. Vadillo, and Mery L. Suni
Date: May 21, 2026
Cholula, México: An international research team has warned that the iconic endangered Andean giant rosette plant Puya raimondii faces catastrophic habitat loss by 2100 due to climate change, compounded by strict topographic preferences and extremely limited seed dispersal. Published in Biological Diversity, the study mapped 44,711 individuals across Peru’s Cordillera Blanca, the world’s largest tropical mountain range, to model current and future suitable habitats.
Researchers found P. raimondii thrives at elevations of 4,000–4,400 m, on 20°–40° north/northwest/northeast-facing slopes, which provide optimal soil warmth for germination. By 2100, under a moderate +3°C warming scenario, suitable habitat within dispersal range shrinks to 54–84% of current area. A severe +5°C scenario eliminates nearly all viable habitat, leaving less than 1% of current range accessible.
Critical barriers amplify the risk: P. raimondii disperses seeds only 10–100 m, lives 40–100 years, and reproduces once. Even with rare long-distance dispersal (500–1,000 m), habitat loss remains severe. Worryingly, over half of the studied plants lie outside Huascarán National Park, exposed to mining and grazing threats.
The team emphasizes that natural migration will be too slow to outpace warming. Urgent actions include assisted colonization with genetically representative seeds, habitat restoration beyond protected areas, and collaboration with local communities. This study highlights a critical lesson: mountain species’ survival depends on linking fine-scale topography and dispersal limits to conservation strategies.
Original Source
Ramsay, Paul M., Gerson E. Prado, Liscely Tumi, Giovana P. Vadillo, and Mery L. Suni. 2025. “Topography, Seed Dispersal, and Climate Change Reduce Future Habitat for an Endangered Tropical High-Altitude Plant.” Biological Diversity 2(2-3): 95–105.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bod2.70007
Keywords
Elevation, environmental sorting, habitat loss, microclimate, microhabitat, Puya raimondii, temperature
About the Author
Paul M. Ramsay (First author and corresponding author), PhD, Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences at the Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Mexico. His research focuses on tropical mountain ecology, conservation biology, and phenology. He has published over 60 papers, with 2,441 total citations and an h-index of 23, and currently serves as an editorial board member of Plant Ecology.
About the Journal
Biological Diversity (ISSN: 2994-4139) is a new open-access, high-impact, English-language journal, devoted to advancing biodiversity conservation, enhancing ecosystem services, and promoting the sustainable use of resources under global change. It features innovative research addressing the global biodiversity crisis.