Fire is the major natural disturbance agent that has transformed the global landscape, consuming surface biomass and altering the physicochemical properties of the soil. However, anthropogenic intervention has increased the frequency of this disturbance, affecting various ecosystems, including the páramo, a high-altitude Andean Mountain ecosystem. In this ecosystem, there are indications that fire facilitates species establishment in the understudied genus Puya. To further investigate their response to fire, transects were established in areas impacted by fires in 1988 and 2002, as well as in undisturbed areas (no fire prior to 1985). The study aimed to understand how fire interacted with species diversity and abundance, as well as with aboveground and belowground plant functional traits, and mycorrhizal colonization. Our results revealed that in the undisturbed transects, there was higher plant diversity (four species), and that fire disturbance led to a decrease in species richness. In the 2002 fire-affected transects, only Puya goudotiana was present. Interestingly, this species did not undergo changes in functional traits when comparing individuals growing in undisturbed conditions with those affected by fire. Puya nitida was present in the 1988 and the no fire transects and exhibited significantly higher root branching and lower root diameter under undisturbed conditions. Mycorrhizal colonization did not show significant differences between species or time since fire disturbance. Considering the ecological importance of Puya in the páramo ecosystem, and the large impact fire has on abundance and diversity, more research on the genus is needed to better understand how these plants respond to disturbance events and colonization in affected areas.
