Abstract
The páramo is a high altitudinal wetland ecosystem in the upper Andes of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru. It is a reliable and constant source of high quality water and as such, the major water provider for the Andean highlands and part of the coastal plains. Water is used for consumption as well as electricity production. However, scientific evidence suggests that the quality and quantity of this water source may be at risk, due to increasing human interference in the wetland ecosystem. The current study analyses the water balance of two microcatchments near Cuenca, Ecuador. One is covered by the typical natural grass vegetation, while the other catchment is heavily interfered and intensive cultivation, cattle grazing and drainage are taking place. Three rain gauges and a V-notch were installed in each catchment, and one meteorological station in a nearby location. Analysis of the precipitation data reveals that seasonal variability in the páramo is extremely low. This property is a major reason for the sustained base flow, which characterises the páramo. However, evapotranspiration, represented by the crop coefficient, is more than twice as high in the cultivated areas (0.95), compared to the natural vegetation (0.42). The increased evapotranspiration may seriously affect the water production of interfered páramo catchments. Finally, based on water balance analysis, the variation in water storage in the páramo is very low, with a yearly variation of about 25 mm. In the interfered catchment, the storage in variation is even lower, about 15 mm, suggesting a deterioration of the regulation capacity.
Access provided by Autonomous University of Puebla. Download to read the full chapter text
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, R.G., Pereira, L.S., Raes, D., Smith, M., 1998. Crop evapotranspiration. Guidelines for computing crop water requirements. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56. FAO, Rome.
Ataroff, M, Rada, F., 2000. Deforestation impact on water dynamics in a Venezuelan Andean Cloud Forest. Ambio 29: 440–444.
Bacuilima, F.L., Bacuilima, J.C., Bermeo, W.A., 1999. Caracterización de clima por microcuencas en el Austro Ecuatoriano. Msc thesis. Universidad de Cuenca, Facultad de Ingenieria, Cuenca.
Bruijnzeel, L.A., Proctor, J., 1995. Hydrology and biogeochemistry of tropical montane cloud forests: What do we really know? In: Hamilton, L.S., Juvik, J.O., Scatena, F.N. (eds.), Tropical montane cloud forests. Springer-Verlag, New York. pp. 38–78.
Buytaert, W., 2004. The properties of the soils of the south Ecuadorian páramo and the impact of land use changes on their hydrology. PhD Thesis, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
Buytaert, W., De Bièvre, B., Wyseure, G., Deckers, J., 2004. The use of the linear reservoir concept to quantify the impact of land use changes on the hydrology of catchments in the Ecuadorian Andes. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 8: 108–114.
Buytaert, W., De Bièvre, B., Wyseure, G., Deckers, J., 2005. The effect of land use changes on the hydrological behaviour of Histic Andosols in south Ecuador. Hydrological Processes. In press.
Hedberg, O., 1992. Afroalpine vegetation compared to páramo: convergent adaptations and divergent differentiation. In: Balslev H., Luteyn J.L. (eds.), Páramo: an Andean ecosystem under human influence. Academic Press London. pp. 15–30.
Hofstede, R.G.M., 1995. Effects of burning and grazing on a Colombian páramo ecosystem. PhD Thesis. Universiteit van Amsterdam.
IUCN, 2002. High Andean Wetlands. Technical Report. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland
Medina, G., Vásconez, P.M., 2001. Los páramos en el Ecuador. In: Vasconez, P.M., Medina, G., Hofstede, R. (eds.), Los páramos del Ecuador. Proyecto Páramo, Quito. pp. 1–24.
Southgate, D., Macke, R., 1989. The downstream benefits of soil conservation in third world hydroelectric watersheds. Land Economics, 65: 38–48.
USDI Bureau of Reclamation, 2001. Water Measurement Manual. U S Department of the Interior.
Vargas, O.R., Zuluaga, S., 1986. Classificación y ordenación de comunidades vegetales de páramo. Perez Arbelaezia, 2: 125–143.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Springer
About this paper
Cite this paper
Buytaert, W., Iñiguez, V., Celleri, R., De Bièvre, B., Wyseure, G., Deckers, J. (2006). Analysis of the Water Balance of Small Páramo Catchments in South Ecuador. In: Krecek, J., Haigh, M. (eds) Environmental Role of Wetlands in Headwaters. NATO Science Series: IV: Earth and Environmental Sciences, vol 63. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4228-0_24
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4228-0_24
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-4226-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4228-7
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)