Influence of Altitude and Climatic Factors on the Floristic Composition of the Moorlands of the Guamote Canton, Ecuador: Key Revelations for Conservation

Comments 1: Plant family names are written in capital letters.

Plant genus names should be in italics (Poa)

In the abstract, the word 'change' is repeated twice

Response 1: Thank you for pointing this out. We agree with this comment. Therefore, we have corrected the family names and placed the genera in italics, also the word change was deleted so that it is not repeated in the summary.

Comments 2: I didn't understand why the family Gentianaceae is described (paragraphs 195-201) and neither the purpose of the phrases about the family Solanaceae in paragraphs 169-173. If one speaks of spontaneous flora why is it necessary to remember tomatoes and potatoes?

Response 2: Agreed. Accordingly, we have synthesized the results with relevant information, from line 169 to 201.

Comments 3: Why didn't the authors make floristic surveys and used "virtual repository"? The data would have been more interesting if actual information collected in the field by the authors was used.

Perhaps it would have been more interesting to make a floristic inventory and climatic data at different times of the year and for several years to observe the species dynamics and implicitly the dynamics of the percentage participation of plant families according to the climatic data of several years.

In conclusion, the study would have been even more interesting if it had been carried out over a longer period of time and if it had used floristic surveys physically determined by the authors

Response 3: Thank you for pointing this out. We agree with observations with this comment. Therefore, I would like to mention that the research, in addition to compiling information from databases of floristic species from multiple sources, collected field data through 18 floristic inventories during three years in the study area, within the framework of the research project “Determination of the efficient use of biopurifying high Andean plant species” executed by several institutions.

 We thank you for your comments and clarify that the research continues and in this sense we welcome your suggestions for the writing of the next article.

Comments 1: Enhancing the Materials and Methods section to provide greater clarity and robustness is recommended.

Response 1: Agreed. Accordingly, we have improved the structure of the materials and methods section.

Comments 2: The research design, questions, hypotheses, and methods are unclear. Therefore, formulating a research question and hypothesis is also advised to define the problem and guide the study.

Response 2: A Thank you for pointing this out. We agree with this comment. We have included the research question and hypothesis in the manuscript.

Comments 3: Including a methodological diagram and an explanation of the research phases and stages would significantly improve the introduction to this section, facilitating a better understanding of the applied methodology.

Response 3: Accordingly, we have included a methodological diagram for better understanding.

Comments 4: Additionally, it is recommended that the Results section be separated from the Discussion section. These are distinct stages of an academic article, each serving a specific purpose and contributing uniquely to the overall argument.

Response 4: Thank you for pointing this out, we have separated the results section and the discussion of the manuscript.

Comments 1: Lines 167-168: Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Amaranthaceae, Solanaceae, Poaceae, Verbenaceae

Line 179 and throughout the text, plant family names should be consistently capitalized throughout the text.

Response 1: Thank you for pointing this out. We agree with this comment. We have capitalized all family names throughout the manuscript.

Comments 2: Lines 157-206: I believe some information on biochemical compounds, morphology, and phylogeny of plant families is unnecessary for this type of research. Please make it shorter and more concise.