Centro de Investigación para el Territorio y el Hábitat Sostenible

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Universidad Indoamérica

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Risk assessment of unlined oil pits leaking into groundwater in the Ecuadorian Amazon: A modified GIS-DRASTIC approach
(2022)
Durango-Cordero J.
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Saqalli M.
;
Ferrant S.
;
Bonilla S.
;
Maurice L.
This study evaluates the risk of groundwater contamination from unlined oil pits, in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon (NEA). Applying spatial analysis, several maps were provided for its integration in land use planning, public health improvement and future site-specific investigations. Two main maps were produced: (1) a vulnerability indexed map using a modified DRASTIC model and (2) a hazard map based on the past (1995–1997) and present (2018) contamination using a weighted density equation. The hazard was derived from hydrocarbon contained in oil pits associated with a cost-distance analysis to obtain different maximum distance ranges (MDR), to model the surface of potentially impacted groundwater. The results indicate a total calculated hydrocarbons of 39 052 tons. A MDR from 500–10 000 km was retained to map aquifers at risk, the maximum surface potentially at risk covers 13% of the NEA, while 83% of the area represents low to medium-low vulnerability. This study led to several recommendations, such as the level of suitability of the available information, and what gaps should be filled to improve future research. A surface of 271–766.5 km in the 500-2000-m distance range should be prioritised for finer scale risk assessment. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd
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Impacts of soil erosion and climate change on the built heritage of the Pambamarca Fortress Complex in northern Ecuador
(2023)
Santos F.
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Calle N.
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Bonilla S.
;
Sarmiento F
;
Herrnegger M.
The Pambamarca fortress complex in northern Ecuador is a cultural and built heritage with 18 prehispanic fortresses known as Pucaras. They are mostly located on the ridge of the Pambamarca volcano, which is severely affected by erosion. In this research, we implemented a multiscale methodology to identify sheet, rill and gully erosion in the context of climate change for the prehistoric sites. In a first phase, we coupled the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and four CMIP6 climate models to evaluate and prioritize which Pucaras are prone to sheet and rill erosion, after comparing historical and future climate scenarios. Then, we conducted field visits to collect geophotos and soil samples for validation purposes, as well as drone flight campaigns to derive high resolution digital elevation models and identify gully erosion with the stream power index. Our erosion maps achieved an overall accuracy of 0.75 when compared with geophotos and correlated positively with soil samples sand fraction. The Pucaras evaluated with the historical climate scenario obtained erosion rates ranging between 0 and 20 ton*ha-1*yr-1. These rates also varied from -15.7% to 39.1% for four future climate change models that reported extreme conditions. In addition, after identifying and overflying six Pucaras that showed the highest erosion rates in the future climate models, we mapped their gully-prone areas that represented between 0.9% and 3.2% of their analyzed areas. The proposed methodology allowed us to observe how the design of the Pucaras and their concentric terraces have managed to reduce gully erosion, but also to notice the pressures they suffer due to their susceptibility to erosion, anthropic pressures and climate change. To address this, we suggest management strategies to guide the protection of this cultural and built heritage landscapes. © 2023 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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Sentinel satellite data monitoring of air pollutants with interpolation methods in Guayaquil, Ecuador
(2023)
Mejía C. D.
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Alvarez H.
;
Zalakeviciute R.
;
Macancela D.
;
Sanchez C.
In Ecuador, there is a limitation on air quality monitoring due to the cost of monitoring networks. Although air quality monitoring stations are instruments for air measurement, they do not cover an entire city due to their scope. Satellite remote sensing is now an effective tool to study atmospheric pollutants and has been applied to continuously assess a region and overcome the limitations of fixed stations. Despite the application of satellite data for air quality monitoring, there are some limitations, such as measurement frequency, cloud cover and wide spatial resolution, which do not allow the assessment of air pollution in cities. Therefore, downscaling, applying interpolation methods, is essential for continuous air quality monitoring at smaller scales. For this research, Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) data from the Sentinel-5 satellite percussor was used in the city of Guayaquil for January–December 2020, which is considered before, during and after the COVID-19 quarantine. This mid-size port city does not have a permanent monitoring network, which prevents us from knowing the air quality. Due to the limitation of pixel size, this study used satellite data to apply interpolation techniques and reduce pixels to assess air quality. Two categories of interpolation were selected: deterministic and stochastic. The empirical Bayesian kriging (EBK) interpolation obtained a R2 of 0.9546, which was superior to the other methods applied. Therefore, the EBK method had the best accuracy for tropospheric NO2 concentration. Finally, the method used in this research can help monitor air quality in cities lacking continuous monitoring networks, as the reduction of the pixel size gives us a better pattern of pollutants. © 2023 The Authors
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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
;
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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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
;
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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Mapping 50 years of contribution to the development of soil quality biological indicators
(2023)
Bonilla Bedoya, Santiago
;
Valencia K.
;
Herrera M.Á.
;
López-Ulloa M.
;
Donoso D.A.
Biological indicators of soil quality express the capacity of a soil to maintain its ecosystem functions and services between socio-ecosystem inflection thresholds; therefore, they are determinants in management and land use decisions. However, their development until a few decades ago was limited for several reasons: reductionism and early development of other dimensions, such as physical and chemical indicators or their methodological complexity, thus affecting the importance given to biological factors and the integral evaluation of soil quality or health. Thus, this review presents a mapping of the scientific contributions of the last 50 years oriented to the theoretical and methodological development of biological indicators of soil quality, identifying their development and application in these decades. We conducted a bibliometric analysis that allowed us to present an overview of the field with respect to scientific production: temporality, geographical origin, institutional origin, journals that promote the development of the field, articles with greater influence by citation in the field of study, and the co-occurrences of these indicators in research. This analysis was complemented at the second stage by a systematic review of the literature with the greatest impact by citation. We found 2320 scientific papers distributed mainly in the United States (17.8%), China (12.2%), Brazil (8.3%), India (6.3%), and European Mediterranean countries, such as Spain, France, and Italy (14.2%). Our review showed 25 biological indicators with the highest occurrence; for example, microbial biomass (1 1 8), enzymatic activity (90), and organic matter (78); other indicators, such as earthworms, nematodes, or springtails, are also reported. All indicators showed relationships, to a greater or lesser extent, with soil biodiversity and its functions in the landscape. Important advances in soil indicators have developed gradually in the last few decades, with scientific efforts mainly concentrated in developed and emerging countries. In the last decade, the production curve continues with a growth trend., and research questions in the field revolve around the linkage of diversity and function from a molecular point of view. The scope goes beyond productivity, manifesting the real need to conserve and manage the ecosystem services of a limited and non-renewable natural resource. Pioneering research should begin to report on the scope of soil biological monitoring and its influence on policy, management, and land use. Finally, the promotion of research networks with developing countries can foster the development of regional and local soil monitoring policies in these regions. © 2023 The Author(s)
Scopus© Citations 5 33
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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.
;
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 effect of national protest in Ecuador on PM pollution
(2021)
Zalakeviciute R.
;
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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