Determinación de la calidad del agua superficial e intersticial del humedal río colorado - reserva de producción faunística Chimborazo

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the surface and interstitial water quality of the Colorado River-RPFCH wetland area. Using geographic information systems and technical field visits, the following data were determined: nine interstitial water points, three surface water points, and five macroinvertebrate points with four monthly samplings; in the period October 2022- January 2023 in the rainy season, in addition to protocols for collection and identification of macroinvertebrates and standardized methods of water analysis. A SPEARMAN correlation was applied in the physicochemical parameters, logical microbes with the RAS in water, and the variability of the concentration of cations and anions, and a PERMANOVA analysis was carried out with distance measurement by Bray- Curtis dissimilarity. The Andean Biotic Index (ABI) and BMWP/Col index were used for water quality. The strongest correlation between RAS and ions is sodium 0.766 and total solids 0.57; the variability of cation concentrations and anions had no significant differences in the four months nor the interaction between months and type of water; however, when taking into account the types of water regardless of the months, they found significant differences with a p-value (0.0002). Finally, the water quality is good according to the ABÍ index with a value of 96; in the BMWP/Col index, it is clean water with a value of 107. It is concluded that the hypothesis that the surface and interstitial water of the Colorado River-RPFCH wetland area is of good quality is accepted based on the application of biological indices. It is recommended to carry out the study in the dry season and a participatory proposal of environmental management plans for water resources for conservation, maintenance, and protection.