The short duration and scarcity of continuous instrumental climate records makes the reconstruction of the past climate very limited in Ecuador.

In this framework, the south-eastern karst areas of Mera, Pastaza provides the access to several caves with suitable stalagmites for paleoclimate studies. In addition, temperature loggers and rainwater collectors were installed in the area for stable isotope monitoring. With regard to biological aspects, the use of bat guano as seed dispersers for explaining flora underground diversity was carried out in the cave.

The exploration brought about the opportunity to complement our paleoclimate record in Mera. Thereby, in collaboration with Salesian Polytechnic University (UPS-Quito), tree cores were selected for dendrochronological studies to reconstruct tropical climate variability and detection of more frequent extreme climate events.