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Dr Dunia H. Urrego

Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography

5874

Laver Building 806

Laver Building, University of Exeter, North Park Road, Exeter, EX4 4QE, UK

Office hours:

Term 3 Tuesdays 13:00-14:00

Please click here to book an office-hour appointment. Please indicate if you want to meet in person or online and provide some information on topic to be discussed. You will receive an outlook calendar event with a link that can be used to meet online.

You can hear my name pronunciation here. My pronouns are she / her / hers

Overview

My research focuses on environmental change and human-landscape interactions in tropical and subtropical ecosystems. I use fossilised plant remains such as pollen grains and charcoal particles to understand past climate change and ecosystem dynamics. My previous work has highlighted the resilience of Amazonian forests to temperature change and their sensitivity to drought, that natural fires and drought drive treeline dynamics in the tropical Andes and that climate change can halt coral reef development in the eastern tropical Pacific. I have been involved in understanding how environmental variability influenced the development of modern humans in southern Africa and in generating the first formal assessment of climate change communication in Colombia. I also led the international network LaACER on abrupt climate change and environmental responses in the American tropics (http://ephe-paleoclimat.com/acer/LaACER.htm).

Links

Google scholar profile: http://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=GJ0yDhsAAAAJ

Qualifications

PhD in Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, United States
BEng in Forest engineering, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia

Career

2018-present Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography, University of Exeter, UK.
2017-2019 Visiting scientist, Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Netherlands.
2013-2018 Lecturer in Physical Geography, University of Exeter, UK.
2010-2013 Postdoctoral researcher ERC-CNRS, Université Bordeaux, France.
2009-2010 Adjunct professor, Department of Biology, Florida Institute of Technology, USA.
2006-2010 Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Biology, Florida Institute of Technology, USA

Research group links

Earth Systems Science

Research

Research interests

My research focuses on environmental change and human-landscape interactions in the tropical and subtropical regions over long timescales. I am currently involved in:

Research projects

BioResilience: Biodiversity resilience and ecosystem services in post-conflict socio-ecological systems in Colombia - NERC/AHRC

This project will examine the long-term resilience of Colombian forest ecosystems to environmental and climatic changes and improve understanding of the future implications of forest degradation for Colombian society. We focus on forests that are not pristine in that they are used by local communities and are affected by logging and fire. BioResilience fills a research gap in understanding how forests, which may be regarded as biologically 'degraded', have undergone changes in biodiversity, in ecosystem services, and in how they participate in local and global cycles of carbon and energy. The project will integrate ecological and socio-cultural research and focus on existing cultures of biodiversity conservation. This understanding is essential if the scientific evidence is to be integrated into long-term management plans and policy, as forest degradation in Colombia is strongly associated with changes to the fabric of social life, including the effects of sustained conflict.

Mangrove ecosystem functioning and degradation in a delta under pressure

This project aims to assess the effects of human interventions on mangrove ecosystem functioning in the Magdalena River Delta, Colombia. We are working with high-school students and teachers from Colegio San Jose in Barranquilla (http://colsanjose.edu.co) with the aim to foster knowledge transfer and increase public awareness on ecosystem services provided by mangrove forests. This is a seed money project with funding from the Future Deltas Initiative at Utrecht University, Netherlands (https://www.uu.nl/en/futuredeltas/project-mangroves-under-pressure), and the Strategic Development Fund from the College of Life and Environmental Sciences at Exeter.

Read our expedition blog here: http://geoblog.weebly.com/expedition-colombia

See our dissemination video here: https://vimeo.com/255247604

The origins of plant domestication in the upper Madeira River basin in lowland South America - NERC/FAPEAM

The principal aim of this project is to combine paleoecology and archaebotany to trace the origin, dispersal and phylogeography of native Amazonian crops. We are currently working in lakes and archaeological sites both in Brazil and Bolivia, Upper Madeira region in Western Amazonia. Funding support is provided by NERC (UK) and Fapeam (Brazil). More information can be found here: https://grants.uberresearch.com/501100000270/5751E9C9-B2F0-4449-84C1-536746D52BA6/The-origins-of-plant-domestication-in-the-upper-Madeira-River-basin-in-lowland-South-America

Abrupt Climate Changes and Environmental Responses - ACER

ACER is an International Focus Group of INQUA (International Quaternary Association) that aims to understand the timing, frequency and amplitude of the rapid climate variability and the feedback mechanisms involved. This will help us in understanding the abrupt CO2 and CH4 changes recorded in ice cores and inform our predictions of the responses of the earth system to accelerated climate change. LaACER is a project under ACER that focuses in the regional signature of abrupt climate events in the American tropics. ACER and LaACER have received funding from INQUA, PAGES and NERC. Read more here: http://www.ephe-paleoclimat.com/acer/Home%20acer.htm

Publications

Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year

Key publications

Pym FC, Franco-Gaviria F, Garcia Espinoza I, Urrego D (2023). The timing and ecological consequences of Pleistocene megafaunal decline in the eastern Andes of Colombia. Quaternary Research, 1-17. Abstract.

Espinoza IG, Franco-Gaviria F, Castañeda I, Robinson C, Room A, Berrío JC, Armenteras D, Urrego DH (2022). Holocene Fires and Ecological Novelty in the High Colombian Cordillera Oriental. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10

Hagemans K, Urrego DH, Gosling WD, Rodbell DT, Wagner-Cremer F, Donders TH (2022). Intensification of ENSO frequency drives forest disturbance in the andes during the holocene. Quaternary Science Reviews, 294

Franco-Gaviria F, Amador-Jimenez M, Millner N, Durden C, Urrego D (2022). Quantifying resilience of socio-ecological systems through dynamic Bayesian networks. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change

Oughton JW, Urrego DH (2021). Testing the Tropical Trigger Hypothesis of Abrupt Climate Variability. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9 Abstract.

de Souza JG, Robinson M, Maezumi SY, Capriles J, Hoggarth JA, Lombardo U, Novello VF, Apaéstegui J, Whitney B, Urrego D, et al (2019). Climate change and cultural resilience in late pre-Columbian Amazonia. Nat Ecol Evol, 3(7), 1007-1017. Abstract. Author URL.

Publications by category

Journal articles

Maezumi SY, Elliott S, Robinson M, Betancourt CJ, Gregorio de Souza J, Alves D, Grosvenor M, Hilbert L, Urrego DH, Gosling WD, et al (2022). Legacies of Indigenous land use and cultural burning in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest ecotone. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 377(1849). Abstract.

van der Sande MT, Bush MB, Urrego DH, Silman M, Farfan-Rios W, García Cabrera K, Shenkin A, Malhi Y, McMichael CH, Gosling W, et al (2021). Modern pollen rain predicts shifts in plant trait composition but not plant diversity along the Andes–Amazon elevational gradient. Journal of Vegetation Science, 32(1).

Aims: Terrestrial ecosystems are changing in biodiversity, species composition and functional trait composition. To understand the underlying causes of these changes and predict the long-term resilience of the ecosystem to withstand future disturbances, we can evaluate changes in diversity and composition from fossil pollen records. Although diversity can be well estimated from pollen in temperate ecosystems, this is less clear for the hyperdiverse tropics. Moreover, it remains unknown whether functional composition of plant assemblages can be accurately predicted from pollen assemblage composition. Here, we evaluate how community-weighted mean (CWM) traits and diversity indices change along elevation. Location: Amazon–Andes elevation gradient in Peru. Methods: We used 82 modern pollen samples and 59 vegetation plots along the elevation gradient, and calculated CWM traits and diversity indices for each pollen sample and vegetation plot. We also quantified the degree to which taxa are over- or underrepresented by their pollen, by dividing the relative pollen abundance by the relative basal area abundance in the nearby vegetation survey plots (i.e. the R-rel values). Results: We found that CWM wood density increased, and CWM adult height and leaf area decreased with elevation. This change was well predicted by pollen assemblages, indicating that CWM trait–environment relationships based on pollen abundance data provide meaningful results. Diversity (richness, Shannon and Simpson) decreased with elevation for vegetation plots, but these trends could not be observed from pollen assemblages. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that more research is needed to develop methods that lead to accurate diversity estimates from pollen data in these tropical ecosystems, but that CWM traits can be calculated from pollen data to assess spatial shifts in functional composition. This opens opportunities to calculate CWM traits from fossil pollen data sets in the tropics, with broad implications for improving our understanding and predictions of forest dynamics, functioning and resilience through time.

Abstract.

Oughton JW, Urrego DH (2021). Testing the Tropical Trigger Hypothesis of Abrupt Climate Variability. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9 Abstract.

Xie D, Schwarz C, Bruckner M, Kleinhans M, Urrego D, Zhou Z, Van Maanen B (2020). Mangrove diversity loss under sea-level rise triggered by bio-morphodynamic feedbacks and anthropogenic pressures. Environmental Research Letters

Hagemans K, Tóth C-D, Ormaza M, Gosling W, Urrego DH, León-Yánez S, Wagner-Cremer F, Donders T (2019). Modern pollen-vegetation relationships along a steep temperature gradient in the Tropical Andes of Ecuador. Quaternary Research, 92, 1-13.

DANIAU A-L, Desprat S, Davis B, Ruis D, Marquer L, Montade V, Bremond L, Fletcher W, Aleman J, Morales del Molino C, et al (2019). Terrestrial plant microfossils in palaeoenvironmental studies, pollen, microcharcoal and phytolith. Towards a comprehensive understanding of vegetation, fire and climate changes over the past one million years. Revue de Micropaléontologie, 63, 1-35.

Maezumi Y, Robinson ME, de Souza J, Urrego DH, Shaan D, Iriarte J, Alves D (2018). New Insights from Pre-Columbian Land Use and Fire Management in Amazonian Dark Earth Forests. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 6(111).

Anthropogenic climate change driven by increased carbon emissions is leading to more severe fire seasons and increasing the frequency of mega-fires in the Amazon. This has the potential to convert Amazon forests from net carbon sinks to net carbon sources. Although modern human influence over the Earth is substantial, debate remains over when humans began to dominate Earth's natural systems. To date, little is known about the history of human land use in key regions like the Amazon. Here, we examine the history of human occupation from a ~8,500 year-old sediment core record from Lake Caranã (LC) in the eastern Amazon. The onset of pre-Columbian activity at LC (~4,500 cal yr B.P.) is associated with the beginning of fire management and crop cultivation, later followed by the formation of Amazonian Dark Earth soils (ADEs) ~2,000 cal yr B.P. Selective forest enrichment of edible plants and low-severity fire activity altered the composition and structure of forests growing on ADEs (ADE forests) making them more drought susceptible and fire-prone. Following European colonization (1661 A.D.), the Amazon rubber boom (mid-1800s to 1920 A.D.) is associated with record-low fire activity despite drier regional climate, indicating fire exclusion. The formation of FLONA Reserve in 1974 A.D. is accompanied by the relocation of traditional populations and a fire suppression policy. Despite suppression efforts, biomass burning and fire severity in the past decade is higher than any other period in the record. This is attributed to combined climate and human factors which create optimal conditions for mega-fires in ADE forests and threatens to transform the Amazon from a net carbon sink to a net carbon source. To help mitigate the occurrence of mega-fires, a fire management policy reducing fire-use and careful fire management for farming may help to reduce fuel loads and the occurrence of mega-fires in fire-prone ADE forests. As both natural and anthropogenic pressures are projected to increase in the Amazon, this study provides valuable insights into the legacy of past human land use on modern ADE forest composition, structure, and flammability that can inform ecological benchmarks and future management efforts in the eastern Amazon.

Abstract.

Sánchez Goñi MF, Desprat S, Fletcher WJ, Morales-Molino C, Naughton F, Oliveira D, Urrego DH, Zorzi C (2018). Pollen from the deep-sea: a breakthrough in the mystery of the ice ages. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9

Pollen from deep-sea sedimentary sequences provides an integrated regional reconstruction of vegetation and climate (temperature, precipitation, and seasonality) on the adjacent continent. More importantly, the direct correlation of pollen, marine and ice indicators allows comparison of the atmospheric climatic changes that have affected the continent with the response of the Earth’s other reservoirs, i.e. the oceans and cryosphere, without any chronological uncertainty. The study of long continuous pollen records from the European margin has revealed a changing and complex interplay between European climate, North Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs), ice growth and decay, and high- and low-latitude forcing at orbital and millennial timescales. These records have shown that the amplitude of the last five terrestrial interglacials was similar above 40°N, while below 40°N their magnitude differed due to precessionmodulated changes in seasonality and, particularly, winter precipitation. These records also showed that vegetation response was in dynamic equilibrium with rapid climate changes such as the Dangaard-Oeschger (D-O) cycles and Heinrich events, similar in magnitude and velocity to the ongoing global warming. However, the magnitude of the millennial-scale warming events of the last glacial period was regionally-specific. Precession seems to have imprinted regions below 40°N while obliquity, which controls average annual temperature, probably mediated the impact of D-O warming events above 40°N. A decoupling between high- and low-latitude climate was also observed within last glacial warm (Greenland interstadials) and cold phases (Greenland stadials). The synchronous response of western European vegetation/climate and eastern North Atlantic SSTs to D-O cycles was not a pervasive feature throughout the Quaternary. During periods of ice growth such as MIS 5a/4, MIS 11c/b and MIS 19c/b, repeated millennial-scale cold-air/warm-sea decoupling events occurred on the European margin superimposed to a long-term air-sea decoupling trend. Strong air-sea thermal contrasts promoted the production of water vapor that was then transported northward by the westerlies and fed ice sheets. This interaction between long-term and shorter timescale climatic variability may have amplified insolation decreases and thus explain the Ice Ages. This hypothesis should be tested by the integration of stochastic processes in Earth models of intermediate complexity.

Abstract.

Maezumi SY, Alves D, Robinson M, de Souza JG, Levis C, Barnett RL, Almeida de Oliveira E, Urrego D, Schaan D, Iriarte J, et al (2018). The legacy of 4,500 years of polyculture agroforestry in the eastern Amazon. Nat Plants, 4(8), 540-547.

The legacy of pre-Columbian land use in the Amazonian rainforest is one of the most controversial topics in the social1-10 and natural sciences11,12. Until now, the debate has been limited to discipline-specific studies, based purely on archaeological data8, modern vegetation13, modern ethnographic data3 or a limited integration of archaeological and palaeoecological data12. The lack of integrated studies to connect past land use with modern vegetation has left questions about the legacy of pre-Columbian land use on the modern vegetation composition in the Amazon, unanswered11. Here, we show that persistent anthropogenic landscapes for the past 4,500 years have had an enduring legacy on the hyperdominance of edible plants in modern forests in the eastern Amazon. We found an abrupt enrichment of edible plant species in fossil lake and terrestrial records associated with pre-Columbian occupation. Our results demonstrate that, through closed-canopy forest enrichment, limited clearing for crop cultivation and low-severity fire management, long-term food security was attained despite climate and social changes. Our results suggest that, in the eastern Amazon, the subsistence basis for the development of complex societies began ~4,500 years ago with the adoption of polyculture agroforestry, combining the cultivation of multiple annual crops with the progressive enrichment of edible forest species and the exploitation of aquatic resources. This subsistence strategy intensified with the later development of Amazonian dark earths, enabling the expansion of maize cultivation to the Belterra Plateau, providing a food production system that sustained growing human populations in the eastern Amazon. Furthermore, these millennial-scale polyculture agroforestry systems have an enduring legacy on the hyperdominance of edible plants in modern forests in the eastern Amazon. Together, our data provide a long-term example of past anthropogenic land use that can inform management and conservation efforts in modern Amazonian ecosystems.

Abstract. Author URL.

Schiferl JD, Bush MB, Silman MR, Urrego DH (2018). Vegetation responses to late Holocene climate changes in an Andean forest. Quaternary Research, 89(1), 60-74. Abstract. Author URL.

Sanchez Goñi MF, Desprat S, Daniau AL, Bassinot FC, Polanco-Martínez JM, Harrison SP, Allen JRM, Scott Anderson R, Behling H, Bonnefille R, et al (2017). The ACER pollen and charcoal database: a global resource to document vegetation and fire response to abrupt climate changes during the last glacial period. Earth System Science Data, 9(2), 679-695. Abstract.

Puech E, Urrego DH, Sánchez Goñi MF, Backwell L, d’Erricoc F (2017). Vegetation and environmental changes at the Middle Stone Age site of Wonderkrater, Limpopo, South Africa. Quaternary Research, 88(2), 313-326. Abstract. Author URL.

Valencia BG, Matthews‐Bird F, Urrego DH, Williams JJ, Gosling WD, Bush M (2016). Andean microrefugia: testing the Holocene to predict the Anthropocene. New Phytologist, 212(2), 510-522.

Urrego DH, Hooghiemstra H, Rama-Corredo O, Martrat B, Grimalt JO, Thompson L, Bush MB, Gonzalez-Carranza Z, Hanselman J, Valencia B, et al (2016). Millennial-scale vegetation changes in the tropical andes using ecological grouping and ordination methods. Climate of the Past Abstract.

Bush MB, Alfonso-Reynolds AM, Urrego DH, Valencia BG, Correa-Metrio YA, Zimmermann M, Silman MR (2015). Fire and climate: contrasting pressures on tropical Andean timberline species. Journal of Biogeography, 42(5), 938-950.

Seilles B, Sanchez Goni MF, Ledru MP, Urrego DH, Martinez P, Hanquiez V, Schneider R (2015). Holocene land-sea climatic links on the equatorial Pacific coast (Bay of Guayaquil, Ecuador). The Holocene: a major interdisciplinary journal focusing on recent environmental change Abstract.

Urrego DH, Sanchez Goni MF, Daniau AL, Lechevrel S, Vanquiez V (2015). Increased aridity in southwestern Africa during the warmest periods of the last interglacial. Climate of the Past, 11, 1417-1431. Abstract.

Mander L, Baker SJ, Belcher CM, Haselhorst DS, Rodriguez J, Thorn JL, Tiwari S, Urrego DH, Wesseln CJ, Punyasena SW, et al (2014). Accuracy and consistency of grass pollen identification by human analysts using electron micrographs of surface ornamentation. Appl Plant Sci, 2(8). Abstract. Author URL.

Woillez M-N, Levavasseur G, Daniau A-L, Kageyama M, Urrego DH, Sánchez-Goñi M-F, Hanquiez V (2014). Impact of precession on the climate, vegetation and fire activity in southern Africa during MIS4. Climate of the Past, 10(3), 1165-1182. Abstract.

Urrego DH, Bernal J, Chiessi C, Cruz F, Sanchez-Goñi M, Power M, Hooghiemstra H (2014). Millennial-scale climate variability in the American tropics and subtropics. Past Global Change Magazine, 22(2), 94-95.

McLauchlan KK, Higuera PE, Gavin DG, Perakis SS, Mack MC, Alexander H, Battles J, Biondi F, Buma B, Colombaroli D, et al (2014). Reconstructing Disturbances and Their Biogeochemical Consequences over Multiple Timescales. BioScience, 64(2), 105-116.

Urrego DH, Bush MB, Silman MR, Niccum BA, De La Rosa P, Mcmichael CH, Hagen S, Palace M (2013). Holocene fires, forest stability and human occupation in south-western Amazonia. Journal of Biogeography, 40(3), 521-533. Abstract.

Woillez M-N, Levavasseur G, Daniau A-L, Kageyama M, Urrego DH, Sánchez-Goñi M-F (2013). Impact of precession on the climate, vegetation and fire activity in southern Africa during MIS4. , 9(5), 5391-5438.

Daniau AL, Sánchez Goñi MF, Martinez P, Urrego DH, Bout-Roumazeilles V, Desprat S, Marlon JR (2013). Orbital-scale climate forcing of grassland burning in southern Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, 110(13), 5069-5073.

Urrego DH (2012). Abrupt vegetation changes during MIS 6 and 3 in South Africa. Quaternary International, 279

Toth LT, Aronson RB, Vollmer SV, Hobbs JW, Urrego DH, Cheng H, Enochs IC, Combosch DJ, Van Woesik R, Macintyre IG, et al (2012). ENSO drove 2500-year collapse of Eastern Pacific coral reefs. Science, 336(6090), 81-84. Abstract.

Urrego DH, Niccum BA, La Drew CF, Silman MR, Bush MB (2011). Fire and drought as drivers of early Holocene tree line changes in the Peruvian Andes. Journal of Quaternary Science, 26(1), 28-36. Abstract.

Urrego DH, Silman MR, Correa-Metrio A, Bush MB (2011). Pollen-vegetation relationships along steep climatic gradients in western Amazonia. Journal of Vegetation Science, 22(5), 795-806. Abstract.

Urrego DH, Bush MB, Silman MR (2010). A long history of cloud and forest migration from Lake Consuelo, Peru. Quaternary Research, 73(2), 364-373. Abstract.

Valencia BG, Urrego DH, Silman MR, Bush MB (2010). From ice age to modern: a record of landscape change in an Andean cloud forest. Journal of Biogeography, 37(9), 1637-1647. Abstract.

Zimmermann M, Meir P, Silman MR, Fedders A, Gibbon A, Malhi Y, Urrego DH, Bush MB, Feeley KJ, Garcia KC, et al (2010). No differences in soil carbon stocks across the tree line in the Peruvian Andes. Ecosystems, 13(1), 62-74. Abstract.

Power MJ, Bush M, Behling H, Horn S, Mayle F, Urrego D (2010). Paleofire activity in tropical America during the last 21 ka: a regional synthesis based on sedimentary charcoal. PAGES news, 18(2), 73-75.

Power MJ, Turney CSM, and others (2008). Changes in ﬁre regimes since the Last Glacial Maximum: an assessment based on a global synthesis and analysis of charcoal data. Climate Dynamics, 30(7-8), 887-907. Abstract.

Álvarez L, García J, Urrego D (2006). CONTROL OF a FEDBATCH BIOPROCESS USING NONLINEAR MODEL PREDICTIVE CONTROL. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 39(2), 347-352.

Urrego LE, Molina LA, Urrego DH, Ramírez LF (2006). Holocene space-time succession of the Middle Atrato wetlands, Chocó biogeographic region, Colombia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 234(1), 45-61. Abstract.

Gosling WD, Urrego DH (2006). La Cordillera Central Colombiana transecto Parque Los Nevados. ECOANDES Volume 5. Studies on tropical Andean ecosystems. T. van der Hammen and Alice G. Santos (eds). Publisher Gebrüder Borntraeger, Berlin, 2003 (545 pp. 3 maps, 1 CD‐Rom). ISBN: 3 443 65004 X. Journal of Quaternary Science, 21, 107-108.

Silman MR, Araujo-Murakami A, Urrego DH, Bush MB, Pariamo H (2005). Estructura de las comunidades de árboles en el límite sur de la Amazonía occidental: Manu y Madidi. Ecología en Bolivia, 40, 443-452.

Urrego DH, Silman MR, Bush MB (2005). The Last Glacial Maximum: Stability and change in a western Amazonian cloud forest. Journal of Quaternary Science, 20(7-8), 693-701. Abstract.

Bush MB, Silman MR, Urrego DH (2004). 48,000 Years of Climate and Forest Change in a Biodiversity Hot Spot. Science, 303(5659), 827-829. Abstract.

Chapters

Lema-Velez LF, Hermelin D, Fontecha MM, Urrego DH (2017). Climate change communication in Colombia. In (Ed) .

Urrego DH, Bush MB, Silman MR, Correa-Metrio AY, Ledru M-P, Mayle FE, Paduano G, Valencia BG (2009). Millennial-Scale Ecological Changes in Tropical South America Since the Last Glacial Maximum. In (Ed) Past Climate Variability in South America and Surrounding Regions, 283-300.

Mayle FE, Burn MJ, Power M, Urrego DH (2009). Vegetation and Fire at the Last Glacial Maximum in Tropical South America. In (Ed) Past Climate Variability in South America and Surrounding Regions, 89-112.

Publications by year

2023

Sayedi SS, Abbott BW, Vannière B, Leys B, Colombaroli D, Romera GG, Słowiński M, Aleman JC, Blarquez O, Feurdean A, et al (2023). Assessing changes in global fire regimes.

2022

2021

Abstract.

Oughton JW, Urrego DH (2021). Testing the Tropical Trigger Hypothesis of Abrupt Climate Variability. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9 Abstract.

2020

Durden C (2020). Interactions between Climate, Megafauna, Human and Fires in Western Amazonia.

South America, and more specifically Western Amazonia has a lack of data regarding ecosystem changes that have occurred over the last 30,000 years. Even though ecological changes during the Late Pleistocene have been documented, including ice-age plant migrations and the extinctions of 80% of megafauna species at continental scale, there is uncertainty on the role that fire has played in these ecosystems. Controversy exists over fires natural role in parts of Amazonia, as high humidity and precipitation are thought to supress natural fires. This has created an assumption that fire in Western Amazonia occur largely a result of anthropogenic activities.
This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the interactions between climate, fire activity, megafauna, and humans in Western Amazonia. This research is the first attempt to investigate the impacts of fire activity and Megafauna extinctions from a hotspot of biodiversity in Western Amazonia: Lake Consuelo. By analysing microparticles of charcoal, spores of Sporormiella and the pollen record this research aims to detect the changes in: fire activity, megafauna presence and vegetation changes over the last 28,000 years.
The results showed that fires have occurred since the Late Pleistocene (28,0000 years ago) and thus have been a natural feature of this ecosystem. It was also found that megafauna survived into the Mid-Holocene, suggesting that Lake Consuelo may have provided a refuge for megafauna. Lake Consuelo remained forested and relatively humid during the Mid-Holocene; a period known to be as pervasively dry in Western Amazonia. Lake Consuelo’s ecosystem showed to be highly resilient to the changes in climate, fire activity, and megafauna with a relatively high degree of environmental stability throughout the past 28,000 years. Given the high biodiversity concentration found in Western Amazonia, long-term understanding of ecosystem functioning in this region is vital to manage and conserve this biodiversity in the future. As unprecedented climate change and rapid population increases are predicted, areas like Lake Consuelo may be crucial to preserve high biodiversity levels if managed appropriately.

Abstract.

2019

Gonda R (2019). Pre-Columbian land use and its modern legacy in the Purus-Madeira Interfluve, Central Amazonia. Abstract.

2018

Abstract.

Abstract. Author URL.

Schiferl JD, Bush MB, Silman MR, Urrego DH (2018). Vegetation responses to late Holocene climate changes in an Andean forest. Quaternary Research, 89(1), 60-74. Abstract. Author URL.

2017

Lema-Velez LF, Hermelin D, Fontecha MM, Urrego DH (2017). Climate change communication in Colombia. In (Ed) .

Goñi MFS, Desprat S, Daniau A-L, Bassinot FC, Polanco-Martínez JM, Harrison SP, Allen JRM, Anderson RS, Behling H, Bonnefille R, et al (2017). The ACER pollen and charcoal database: a global resource to document vegetation and fire response to abrupt climate changes during the last glacial period. , 1-33.

2016

Valencia BG, Matthews‐Bird F, Urrego DH, Williams JJ, Gosling WD, Bush M (2016). Andean microrefugia: testing the Holocene to predict the Anthropocene. New Phytologist, 212(2), 510-522.

2015

Urrego DH, Hooghiemstra H, Rama-Corredor O, Martrat B, Grimalt JO, Thompson L, Contributors D (2015). Rapid millennial-scale vegetation changes in the tropical Andes. , 11(3), 1701-1739.

Urrego DH, Goñi MFS, Daniau AL, Lechevrel S, Hanquiez V (2015). South-western Africa vegetation responses to atmospheric and oceanic changes during the last climatic cycle. , 11(1), 345-376.

2014

2013

2012

Urrego DH (2012). Abrupt vegetation changes during MIS 6 and 3 in South Africa. Quaternary International, 279

2011

2010

Urrego DH, Bush MB, Silman MR (2010). A long history of cloud and forest migration from Lake Consuelo, Peru. Quaternary Research, 73(2), 364-373. Abstract.

Valencia BG, Urrego DH, Silman MR, Bush MB (2010). From ice age to modern: a record of landscape change in an Andean cloud forest. Journal of Biogeography, 37(9), 1637-1647. Abstract.

2009

Urrego DH (2009). Holocene book review: La Cordillera Oriental Colombiana Transecto Sumapaz. The Holocene, 19(7), 1100-1101.

2008

2006

Álvarez L, García J, Urrego D (2006). CONTROL OF a FEDBATCH BIOPROCESS USING NONLINEAR MODEL PREDICTIVE CONTROL. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 39(2), 347-352.

2005

Urrego DH, Silman MR, Bush MB (2005). The Last Glacial Maximum: Stability and change in a western Amazonian cloud forest. Journal of Quaternary Science, 20(7-8), 693-701. Abstract.

2004

Bush MB, Silman MR, Urrego DH (2004). 48,000 Years of Climate and Forest Change in a Biodiversity Hot Spot. Science, 303(5659), 827-829. Abstract.

Dunia_Urrego Details from cache as at 2023-05-29 02:08:38

Refresh publications

External Engagement and Impact

International recognition, such as international research collaborations, visiting research posts in overseas institutions, involvement at senior levels in international research associations, acting as referee for national and international research councils.

2017-2019 Visiting scientist - Utrecht University, Netherlands. Funded by the Netherlands science foundation (NWO)

https://www.uu.nl/staff/DHUrregoSanchez

Research networks

Lead of international research network: Latin American Abrupt Climate Changes and Environmental Responses (LaACER):

http://www.pages.unibe.ch/products/latest/7239-millennial-scale-climate-variability-in-the-american-tropics-and-subtropics

Teaching

Modules

GEO1312 - Fieldwork in Physical Geography
GEO2230 - Reconstructing Past Environments (module lead)
GEO3321/2 - BSc Dissertation

Modules

2022/23

Supervision / Group

Postdoctoral researchers

Felipe Franco Gaviria Ecological baselines and ecosystem resilience in the Colombian Andes
Anggi Hapsari - Mangrove forest development and carbon sequestration

Postgraduate researchers

Felipe Franco Gaviria
Ismael Garcia-Espinoza - Vegetation and fire dynamics in the high Colombian Andes
Jack William Oughton Millennial-scale climate variability in the American tropics
Felix Pym - Megafauna Extinctions in the Colombian Andes

Alumni

Charlotte Durden - Ecological impact of Pleistocene Megafauna extinctions in western Amazonia
Regina Gonda - Environmental impact of pre-Columbian communities in the Purus Madeira interfluve in Central Amazonia
S. Yoshi Maezumi - Pre-Columbian Amazon scale transformations
Alex Room - Regime shift analysis for palaeoecology

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Staff

Dr Dunia H. Urrego

Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography

Overview

Links

Qualifications

Career

Research group links

Research

Research interests

Research projects

BioResilience: Biodiversity resilience and ecosystem services in post-conflict socio-ecological systems in Colombia - NERC/AHRC

Mangrove ecosystem functioning and degradation in a delta under pressure

The origins of plant domestication in the upper Madeira River basin in lowland South America - NERC/FAPEAM

Abrupt Climate Changes and Environmental Responses - ACER

Publications

Key publications

Abstract:The timing and ecological consequences of Pleistocene megafaunal decline in the eastern Andes of Colombia

Abstract:Testing the Tropical Trigger Hypothesis of Abrupt Climate Variability

Abstract:Climate change and cultural resilience in late pre-Columbian Amazonia.

Publications by category

Journal articles

Abstract:The timing and ecological consequences of Pleistocene megafaunal decline in the eastern Andes of Colombia

Abstract:Legacies of Indigenous land use and cultural burning in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest ecotone.

Abstract:Modern pollen rain predicts shifts in plant trait composition but not plant diversity along the Andes–Amazon elevational gradient

Abstract:Testing the Tropical Trigger Hypothesis of Abrupt Climate Variability

Abstract:Climate change and cultural resilience in late pre-Columbian Amazonia.

Abstract:New Insights from Pre-Columbian Land Use and Fire Management in Amazonian Dark Earth Forests

Abstract:Pollen from the deep-sea: a breakthrough in the mystery of the ice ages

Abstract:The legacy of 4,500 years of polyculture agroforestry in the eastern Amazon.

Abstract:Vegetation responses to late Holocene climate changes in an Andean forest

Abstract:The ACER pollen and charcoal database: a global resource to document vegetation and fire response to abrupt climate changes during the last glacial period

Abstract:Vegetation and environmental changes at the Middle Stone Age site of Wonderkrater, Limpopo, South Africa

Abstract:Millennial-scale vegetation changes in the tropical andes using ecological grouping and ordination methods

Abstract:Holocene land-sea climatic links on the equatorial Pacific coast (Bay of Guayaquil, Ecuador)

Abstract:Increased aridity in southwestern Africa during the warmest periods of the last interglacial

Abstract:Accuracy and consistency of grass pollen identification by human analysts using electron micrographs of surface ornamentation.

Abstract:Impact of precession on the climate, vegetation and fire activity in southern Africa during MIS4

Abstract:Holocene fires, forest stability and human occupation in south-western Amazonia

Abstract:ENSO drove 2500-year collapse of Eastern Pacific coral reefs

Abstract:Fire and drought as drivers of early Holocene tree line changes in the Peruvian Andes

Abstract:Pollen-vegetation relationships along steep climatic gradients in western Amazonia

Abstract:A long history of cloud and forest migration from Lake Consuelo, Peru

Abstract:From ice age to modern: a record of landscape change in an Andean cloud forest

Abstract:No differences in soil carbon stocks across the tree line in the Peruvian Andes

Abstract:Changes in ﬁre regimes since the Last Glacial Maximum: an assessment based on a global synthesis and analysis of charcoal data

Abstract:Holocene space-time succession of the Middle Atrato wetlands, Chocó biogeographic region, Colombia

Abstract:The Last Glacial Maximum: Stability and change in a western Amazonian cloud forest

Abstract:48,000 Years of Climate and Forest Change in a Biodiversity Hot Spot

Chapters

Publications by year

2023

Abstract:The timing and ecological consequences of Pleistocene megafaunal decline in the eastern Andes of Colombia

2022

Abstract:Legacies of Indigenous land use and cultural burning in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest ecotone.

2021

Abstract:Modern pollen rain predicts shifts in plant trait composition but not plant diversity along the Andes–Amazon elevational gradient

Abstract:Testing the Tropical Trigger Hypothesis of Abrupt Climate Variability

2020

Abstract:Interactions between Climate, Megafauna, Human and Fires in Western Amazonia

2019

Abstract:Climate change and cultural resilience in late pre-Columbian Amazonia.

Abstract:Pre-Columbian land use and its modern legacy in the Purus-Madeira Interfluve, Central Amazonia

2018

Abstract:New Insights from Pre-Columbian Land Use and Fire Management in Amazonian Dark Earth Forests

Abstract:Pollen from the deep-sea: a breakthrough in the mystery of the ice ages

Abstract:The legacy of 4,500 years of polyculture agroforestry in the eastern Amazon.

Abstract:Vegetation responses to late Holocene climate changes in an Andean forest

2017

Abstract:The ACER pollen and charcoal database: a global resource to document vegetation and fire response to abrupt climate changes during the last glacial period

Abstract:Vegetation and environmental changes at the Middle Stone Age site of Wonderkrater, Limpopo, South Africa

2016

Abstract:Millennial-scale vegetation changes in the tropical andes using ecological grouping and ordination methods

2015

Abstract:Holocene land-sea climatic links on the equatorial Pacific coast (Bay of Guayaquil, Ecuador)

Abstract:Increased aridity in southwestern Africa during the warmest periods of the last interglacial

2014

Abstract:Accuracy and consistency of grass pollen identification by human analysts using electron micrographs of surface ornamentation.

Abstract:Impact of precession on the climate, vegetation and fire activity in southern Africa during MIS4

2013

Abstract:
The timing and ecological consequences of Pleistocene megafaunal decline in the eastern Andes of Colombia

Abstract:
Testing the Tropical Trigger Hypothesis of Abrupt Climate Variability

Abstract:
Climate change and cultural resilience in late pre-Columbian Amazonia.

Abstract:
The timing and ecological consequences of Pleistocene megafaunal decline in the eastern Andes of Colombia

Abstract:
Legacies of Indigenous land use and cultural burning in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest ecotone.

Abstract:
Modern pollen rain predicts shifts in plant trait composition but not plant diversity along the Andes–Amazon elevational gradient

Abstract:
Testing the Tropical Trigger Hypothesis of Abrupt Climate Variability

Abstract:
Climate change and cultural resilience in late pre-Columbian Amazonia.

Abstract:
New Insights from Pre-Columbian Land Use and Fire Management in Amazonian Dark Earth Forests

Abstract:
Pollen from the deep-sea: a breakthrough in the mystery of the ice ages

Abstract:
The legacy of 4,500 years of polyculture agroforestry in the eastern Amazon.

Abstract:
Vegetation responses to late Holocene climate changes in an Andean forest

Abstract:
The ACER pollen and charcoal database: a global resource to document vegetation and fire response to abrupt climate changes during the last glacial period

Abstract:
Vegetation and environmental changes at the Middle Stone Age site of Wonderkrater, Limpopo, South Africa

Abstract:
Millennial-scale vegetation changes in the tropical andes using ecological grouping and ordination methods

Abstract:
Holocene land-sea climatic links on the equatorial Pacific coast (Bay of Guayaquil, Ecuador)

Abstract:
Increased aridity in southwestern Africa during the warmest periods of the last interglacial

Abstract:
Accuracy and consistency of grass pollen identification by human analysts using electron micrographs of surface ornamentation.

Abstract:
Impact of precession on the climate, vegetation and fire activity in southern Africa during MIS4

Abstract:
Holocene fires, forest stability and human occupation in south-western Amazonia

Abstract:
ENSO drove 2500-year collapse of Eastern Pacific coral reefs

Abstract:
Fire and drought as drivers of early Holocene tree line changes in the Peruvian Andes

Abstract:
Pollen-vegetation relationships along steep climatic gradients in western Amazonia

Abstract:
A long history of cloud and forest migration from Lake Consuelo, Peru

Abstract:
From ice age to modern: a record of landscape change in an Andean cloud forest

Abstract:
No differences in soil carbon stocks across the tree line in the Peruvian Andes

Abstract:
Changes in ﬁre regimes since the Last Glacial Maximum: an assessment based on a global synthesis and analysis of charcoal data

Abstract:
Holocene space-time succession of the Middle Atrato wetlands, Chocó biogeographic region, Colombia

Abstract:
The Last Glacial Maximum: Stability and change in a western Amazonian cloud forest

Abstract:
48,000 Years of Climate and Forest Change in a Biodiversity Hot Spot

Abstract:
The timing and ecological consequences of Pleistocene megafaunal decline in the eastern Andes of Colombia

Abstract:
Legacies of Indigenous land use and cultural burning in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest ecotone.

Abstract:
Modern pollen rain predicts shifts in plant trait composition but not plant diversity along the Andes–Amazon elevational gradient

Abstract:
Testing the Tropical Trigger Hypothesis of Abrupt Climate Variability

Abstract:
Interactions between Climate, Megafauna, Human and Fires in Western Amazonia

Abstract:
Climate change and cultural resilience in late pre-Columbian Amazonia.

Abstract:
Pre-Columbian land use and its modern legacy in the Purus-Madeira Interfluve, Central Amazonia

Abstract:
New Insights from Pre-Columbian Land Use and Fire Management in Amazonian Dark Earth Forests

Abstract:
Pollen from the deep-sea: a breakthrough in the mystery of the ice ages

Abstract:
The legacy of 4,500 years of polyculture agroforestry in the eastern Amazon.

Abstract:
Vegetation responses to late Holocene climate changes in an Andean forest

Abstract:
The ACER pollen and charcoal database: a global resource to document vegetation and fire response to abrupt climate changes during the last glacial period

Abstract:
Vegetation and environmental changes at the Middle Stone Age site of Wonderkrater, Limpopo, South Africa

Abstract:
Millennial-scale vegetation changes in the tropical andes using ecological grouping and ordination methods

Abstract:
Holocene land-sea climatic links on the equatorial Pacific coast (Bay of Guayaquil, Ecuador)

Abstract:
Increased aridity in southwestern Africa during the warmest periods of the last interglacial

Abstract:
Accuracy and consistency of grass pollen identification by human analysts using electron micrographs of surface ornamentation.

Abstract:
Impact of precession on the climate, vegetation and fire activity in southern Africa during MIS4

Abstract:
Holocene fires, forest stability and human occupation in south-western Amazonia

Abstract:
ENSO drove 2500-year collapse of Eastern Pacific coral reefs

Abstract:
Fire and drought as drivers of early Holocene tree line changes in the Peruvian Andes

Abstract:
Pollen-vegetation relationships along steep climatic gradients in western Amazonia

Abstract:
A long history of cloud and forest migration from Lake Consuelo, Peru

Abstract:
From ice age to modern: a record of landscape change in an Andean cloud forest

Abstract:
No differences in soil carbon stocks across the tree line in the Peruvian Andes

Abstract:
Changes in ﬁre regimes since the Last Glacial Maximum: an assessment based on a global synthesis and analysis of charcoal data

Abstract:
Holocene space-time succession of the Middle Atrato wetlands, Chocó biogeographic region, Colombia

Abstract:
The Last Glacial Maximum: Stability and change in a western Amazonian cloud forest

Abstract:
48,000 Years of Climate and Forest Change in a Biodiversity Hot Spot