Centro de Investigación para el Territorio y el Hábitat Sostenible

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Universidad Indoamérica

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A transition in the theoretical and methodological paradigms for the rehabilitation of hardened pyroclastic formations in tropical Andean landscapes
(Wiley, 2026-06-09)
Bonilla Bedoya, Santiago
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Zalakeviciute, Rasa
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Mejía‐Coronel, Danilo
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Silva, Gilson F.
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Molina, Juan R.
Introduction Global ecological restoration commitments face political, economic, and technical challenges that limit their implementation and long‐term success. Among the technical constraints, the lack of effective management and monitoring plans highlights the need for tools that support efficient and accurate spatial management of restoration landscapes. Objectives This study provides theoretical and methodological contributions to digital soil mapping (DSM) for the classification and local prediction of suitable microsites for vegetation establishment, with the aim of improving restoration efficiency in hardened pyroclastic formations ( cangahua ) of the Tropical Andes. Methods Unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with multispectral cameras were used to collect environmental data in a mountainous peri‐urban landscape dominated by cangahua . In a ravine sub‐landscape, 350 soil samples were collected at a depth of 0.15 m. Soil organic carbon (SOC) was analyzed and predictively modeled using two machine‐learning algorithms: Random Forest (RF) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). Results SOC exhibited substantial spatial variability, with minimum, mean, and maximum values of 0.69%, 2.48 ± 0.71%, and 4.33%, respectively. In DSM predictions of SOC, the CNN model showed better performance ( r 2 = 34.81%) than the RF model (out‐of‐bag error‐based coefficient of determination, r 2 OOB = 24%). The most influential variables in the CNN model were the red, near‐infrared, and blue spectral bands. Conclusions DSM proved effective for identifying spatial patterns of SOC and suitable restoration microsites in cangahua landscapes. At local scales, this approach provides valuable information on landscape structure, micro‐topography, and ecological and historical memory, improving understanding of how these factors interact to influence soil properties.
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Tourism transport capacity under wildfire risk: A framework for highly visited protected areas
(Elsevier BV, 2026-09)
Ortega, M.
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Bonilla Bedoya, Santiago
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Molina, J.R.
Ecotourism is a major driver of rural development, particularly in natural protected areas. Existing approaches to estimating sustainable tourism capacity in these areas have focused primarily on physical, ecological, perceptual, and economic dimensions. However, these frameworks do not explicitly incorporate risks to people, vehicles, and infrastructure under wildfire scenarios. Given the global rise in large wildfires, this study develops a framework to quantify tourism transport capacity in a highly visited protected area. Tourism transport fire capacity is defined as the maximum number of vehicles permitted within a given sector to minimize wildfire exposure and potential impacts on infrastructure and assets. This capacity is determined by the interaction among structural infrastructure risk, tourism transport fire exposure, and the fire spread index. Under extreme fire spread conditions, results indicate that the number of vehicles during summer weekends should be reduced by 28–34% relative to current levels. Furthermore, when flame lengths exceed 4.3 m, 83.3% of the vegetation-free buffer strips tested in experimental burns fail to prevent impacts on infrastructure or vehicles. This study advances a risk-informed framework for integrating wildfire dynamics into tourism transport capacity assessments. The proposed approach should be incorporated into protected area management planning guidelines, in alignment with evolving fire regimes and regulatory requirements.
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Strengthening the Adoption of Copernicus Services in Latin America: Capacity Building Experiences in Ecuador and Bolivia
(2025)
Santos, Fabián
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Luisa Di Lucchio
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Manuel Múgica Barrera
The Copernicus program, an initiative by the European Union, offers open-access Earth observation data and high-level products through its services. However, these services are less well known in Latin America, underscoring the need to strengthen capacity-building efforts. In this context, this research examines the design and implementation of training workshops in Ecuador and panel discussions in Bolivia, focusing on the role of Copernicus Services in addressing regional challenges related to Environmental, Food Security, Climate Change, Security, and Risk Management through geospatial technologies. By tailoring training sessions in Ecuador to enhance stakeholders’ capabilities and conducting panel discussions in Bolivia to promote these services among public entities, this research highlights the successes and challenges of these initiatives. We emphasize the importance of flexible event design, alignment with local contexts, and the integration of interactive methodologies to enhance stakeholder engagement and learning outcomes. Additionally, differences and similarities between the event formats are discussed in terms of purposes and objectives, audience engagement, content delivery, attendance, and post-event outcomes. Finally, we outline the convergences and divergences in strategic priorities for future Copernicus Services training initiatives in both countries.
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Microalgal Diversity in the Ecuadorian Tropical Andes and Its Association with Abiotic Factors
(2025)
María Cristina Guamán-Burneo
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Nory González-Romero
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Santillán Sarmiento, Alex
The Ecuadorian Tropical Andes serve as vital biodiversity hotspots, crucial for hosting and preserving unique endemic species. While numerous taxonomic groups within these hotspots have been extensively studied, microalgae remain relatively unknown. This study aimed to document the microalgal diversity of Tropical Andean lakes in Ecuador and its relationship with abiotic environmental factors. Water samples were collected from 28 lakes throughout 10 conservation areas, spanning different altitudes in the Ecuadorian Tropical Andes, along with water physical/chemical data. A total of 92 microalgal genera were identified, spanning Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Glaucophyta, Ocrophyta, Cyanophyta, and Euglenophyta. Lakes such as Rodeococha, Anteojos, Chinchillas, Toreadora, Magdalena, and La Mica exhibited the highest richness of microalgal genera. A positive association between temperature and the majority of microalgal phyla, except Glaucophyta, was observed. On the other hand, negative correlations were observed between total dissolved solids and water conductivity with microalgal biodiversity. Additionally, all groups displayed negative associations with pH, except Glaucophyta. The Jaccard similarity index was low among lake communities in agreement with the uniqueness of genera found in some lakes. This study represents a fundamental baseline for future investigations into Ecuador’s microalgal diversity and its relationship with abiotic environmental factors in the delicate freshwater ecosystems of Tropical Andean lakes.
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A geographically weighted random forest approach for evaluate forest change drivers in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon
(2019)
Santos, Fabián
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Graw V.
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Bonilla S.
The Tropical Andes region includes biodiversity hotspots of high conservation priority whose management strategies depend on the analysis of forest dynamics drivers (FDDs). These depend on complex social and ecological interactions that manifest on different space–time scales and are commonly evaluated through regression analysis of multivariate datasets. However, processing such datasets is challenging, especially when time series are used and inconsistencies in data collection complicate their integration. Moreover, regression analysis in FDD characterization has been criticized for failing to capture spatial variability; therefore, alternatives such as geographically weighted regression (GWR) have been proposed, but their sensitivity to multicollinearity has not yet been solved. In this scenario, we present an innovative methodology that combines techniques to: 1) derive remote sensing time series products; 2) improve census processing with dasymetric mapping; 3) combine GWR and random forest (RF) to derive local variables importance; and 4) report results based in a clustering and hypothesis testing. We applied this methodology in the northwestern Ecuadorian Amazon, a highly heterogeneous region characterized by different active fronts of deforestation and reforestation, within the time period 2000–2010. Our objective was to identify linkages between these processes and validate the potential of the proposed methodology. Our findings indicate that land-use intensity proxies can be extracted from remote sensing time series, while intercensal analysis can be facilitated by calculating population density maps. Moreover, our implementation of GWR with RF achieved accurate predictions above the 74% using the out-of-bag samples, demonstrating that derived RF features can be used to construct hypothesis and discuss forest change drivers with more detailed information. In the other hand, our analysis revealed contrasting effects between deforestation and reforestation for variables related to suitability to agriculture and accessibility to its facilities, which is also reflected according patch size, land cover and population dynamics patterns. This approach demonstrates the benefits of integrating remote sensing–derived products and socioeconomic data to understand coupled socioecological systems more from a local than a global scale. © 2019 Santos et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Vulnerability assessment of natural heritage in the North-Eastern Ecuadorian Amazon using land use cover and nature protection status
(2024)
J. Durango-Cordero
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M. Saqalli
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Bonilla Bedoya, Santiago
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A. Elger
This study evaluates the vulnerability of natural heritage in the Northeast Ecuadorian Amazon (NEA), from the perspective of intrinsic vulnerability. Therefore, two proxy indicators of vulnerability were established: (i) the ecological integrity vulnerability index (EIVI), indicating the potential loss of ecological integrity, assessed by protection status (2018); (ii) the biological diversity vulnerability index (BVI), deriving the potential loss of biological diversity, using land cover/land use (2014). Biodiversity values were derived with land cover-related biodiversity data, and (iii) and compared with spatial congruence/correlation between (i) and (ii). The EIVI was directly derived using protection status, which defines vulnerability levels by ranking them according to corresponding levels of anthropic development allowance. A robust relationship between land use classes and species richness was found for both endemic vascular plants in neotropical regions and multi-taxa in tropical forests worldwide, validating the BVI. Furthermore, the moderate spatial correlation between protection status and land cover (r = 0.52) may be partially explained by 3,060 km2 of unprotected primary forest. Overall, 42 % of the NEA have a high degree of congruence between potential biodiversity and protection status. In conclusion, this study provides insights into nature conservation efforts in areas with sparse biodiversity data using readily available geographic information.
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Urban soil management in the strategies for adaptation to climate change of cities in the Tropical Andes
(2022)
Bonilla Bedoya, Santiago
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Ángel Herrera, M.
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Vaca, A.
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Salazar, L.
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Zalakeviciute, R.
The unique characteristics of a city amplify the impacts of climate change; therefore, urban planning in the 21st century is challenged to apply mitigation and adaptation strategies that ensure the collective well-being. Despite advances in monitoring urban environmental change, research on the application of adaptation-oriented criteria remains a challenge in urban planning in the Global South. This study proposes to include urban land management as a criterion and timely strategy for climate change adaptation in the cities of the Tropical Andes. Here, we estimate the distribution of the soil organic carbon stock (OCS) of the city of Quito (2,815 m.a.s.l.; population 2,011,388; 197.09 km2) in the following three methodological moments: i) field/laboratory: city-wide sampling design established to collect 300 soil samples (0–15 cm) and obtain data on organic carbon (OC) concentrations in addition to 30 samples for bulk density (BD); ii) predictors: geographic, spectral and anthropogenic dimensions established from 17 co-variables; and iii) spatial modeling: simple multiple regression (SMRM) and random forest (RFM) models of organic carbon concentrations and density as well as OCS stock estimation. We found that the spatial modeling techniques were complementary; however, SMRM showed a relatively higher fit both (OC: r2 = 20%, BD: r2 = 16%) when compared to RFM (OC: r2 = 8% and BD: r2 = 5%). Thus, soil carbon stock (0–0.15 m) was estimated with a spatial variation that fluctuated between 9.89 and 21.48 kg/m2; whereas, RFM showed fluctuations between 10.38 and 17.67 kg/m2. We found that spatial predictors (topography, relative humidity, precipitation, temperature) and anthropogenic predictors (population density, roads, vehicle traffic, land cover) positively influence the model, while spatial predictors have little influence and show multicollinearity with relative humidity. Our research suggests that urban land management in the 21st century provides key information for adaptation and mitigation strategies aimed at coping with global and local climate variations in the cities of the Tropical Andes. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.
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The effect of national protest in Ecuador on PM pollution
(2021)
Zalakeviciute R.
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Alexandrino K.
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Mejia D.
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Bastidas M.G.
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Oleas N.H.
Particulate matter (PM) accounts for millions of premature deaths in the human population every year. Due to social and economic inequality, growing human dissatisfaction manifests in waves of strikes and protests all over the world, causing paralysis of institutions, services and circulation of transport. In this study, we aim to investigate air quality in Ecuador during the national protest of 2019, by studying the evolution of PM2.5 (PM ≤ 2.5 µm) concentrations in Ecuador and its capital city Quito using ground based and satellite data. Apart from analyzing the PM2.5 evolution over time to trace the pollution changes, we employ machine learning techniques to estimate these changes relative to the business-as-usual pollution scenario. In addition, we present a chemical analysis of plant samples from an urban park housing the strike. Positive impact on regional air quality was detected for Ecuador, and an overall − 10.75 ± 17.74% reduction of particulate pollution in the capital during the protest. However, barricade burning PM peaks may contribute to a release of harmful heavy metals (tire manufacture components such as Co, Cr, Zn, Al, Fe, Pb, Mg, Ba and Cu), which might be of short- and long-term health concerns. © 2021, The Author(s).
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Patterns of timber harvesting and its relationship with sustainable forest management in the western Amazon, Ecuador case
(2017)
Bonilla Bedoya, Santiago
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Estrella-Bastidas A.
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Ordoñez M.
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Sánchez A.
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Herrera M.A.
The Amazon rainforest lies within the most diverse forest ecosystem in the world. However, a large part of the tropical rainforest is being degraded because of timber harvesting without any sustainability criteria and owing to a limited understanding of the effects of forest exploitation. The Ecuadorian Amazon (EA) is part of the Andes Amazon (AA), an area covered by five countries (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia). This research identified the patterns of legal timber harvesting in the EA and determined current trends with respect to mostly harvested forest species. Two harvesting programs aimed at small farmers prevail in the EA: first, naturally regenerated trees felling program, and simplified timber harvesting programs in native forests. Considering the surface and volume of logging, significant differences were detected between logging procedures and ecosystems in the region. Two hundred and thirty-two genera are registered for harvest and, 51.93% of the total harvesting volume comes from eight genera and ten species. This research shows that in fallows of fragmented forest ecosystems, small farmers are harvesting fast-growing pioneer species. Maintaining a sustainable production in timber harvesting depends, by and large, on the harvesting and felling programs established on small farms. © 2017 Taylor & Francis.
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The socioeconomic drivers of invasive plant cover in rural Galapagos
(2025)
Nicole Acosta-Vásconez
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Heinke Jäger
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Uwe A. Schneider
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Santos, Fabián
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Khondokar H. Kabir
The unique biodiversity of the Galapagos Islands faces a significant threat from invasive plants, particularly in the highlands. Invasive plant occurrence is expected to shift in response to changing rural socioeconomic factors, further exacerbating the threat to native ecosystems. So far, limited research has integrated socioeconomic factors as drivers of invasive plant cover changes across the rural landscape. Our study employed stakeholder surveys, plant cover models, and spatial and statistical analyses to identify socioeconomic factors impacting the cover of commonly used or controlled invasive plant species (guava, Cuban cedar, blackberry) in the rural areas of Santa Cruz and San Cristobal Islands. Relevant socioeconomic factors were selected through a ranked predictor analysis in species cover models using random forest algorithms. Both biophysical and socioeconomic predictors were included to increase model comprehensiveness. We found that biophysical factors—such as climate, soil properties, and topography—were strong predictors of Cuban cedar cover. In contrast, socioeconomic factors, soil properties, and climate were better predictors of guava. Statistical analyses revealed that landowners’ primary income source and land use had a significant influence on guava cover. Farms dependent on agriculture had lower guava cover, while those focusing on tourism had the highest. The quality of available data limited results for blackberry. Our study highlights relevant factors that should be considered for invasive plant management in rural Galapagos. It quantifies the effect of key socioeconomic variables on guava cover on Santa Cruz and San Cristobal Islands
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