Análisis del rendimiento hídrico en cuencas de alta montaña en los Andes Ecuatorianos

Abstract

The basins of the tropical Andes comprise a variety of ecosystems, among which are Andean forests and paramo areas. The importance of these Andean ecosystems lies in the provision of environmental services. Particularly, the water supply in the Paute river basin, located in the southeastern foothills of the Ecuadorian Andes, depends on the state of conservation of the ecosystems that form its watersheds. On the other hand, the hydrological response of the mountain basins can also be controlled by physiographic factors such as soil type, vegetation cover and morphometric characteristics. In this context, the present study aims to increase the information on the role played the characteristics of the landscape on the hydrological functioning of Andean ecosystems. To reach the objective, the effects of the variability of the physical parameters and morphometric parameters in the hydric yield of the nested micro-basins of the sub-basins of the Machángara, Tomebamba and Yanuncay rivers. For the basins studied, the morphometric parameters that described most of the variability of water yield were: altitude, area, compactness coefficient, average slope of the basin, concentration time and drainage density; in this sense, the most representative water performance indicators were: runoff coefficient, maximum flow, real evapotranspiration, 65th percentile; while the indicators of water regulation were: the percentages of base flow relationship Q90/Q10, and the slope of the flow duration curve. The variability observed in the generation of runoff can also be explained due to the vegetation cover and the use of the soil