Análisis de la regulación hidrológica de lagunas en una zona de páramo del Austro Ecuatoriano

Abstract

Andean plateau ecosystems, especially wetlands and páramo areas, are essential for the lowlands in the watersheds of the tropical Andes. The mountainous regions usually capture the humidity of the air mass-es, which can lead to an uncertainty in which the páramo can reach certain degrees of humidity. In this work, it was quantified hydrological regulation processes in páramo zones for a small watershed in the Ecuadorian Andes. Two paired subbasins were identified and characterized: Tomebamba and Culebril-las. The TOPMODEL and VHM hydrological model were implemented, which revealed that, for calibra-tion as well as for validation, the simulated flows of the Tomebamba catchment underestimate the ob-served flows. Therefore, it was determined that the yield of the VHM and TOPMODEL model of the Tomebamba catchment resulted in a satisfactory NSE (0.82 and 0.85); whereas the Culebrillas catch-ment showed an acceptable NSE (0.74 and 0.73). The Tomebamba catchment has a more deteriorated climate area than the other one; its weight and the influence of other external factors show a much better modeling results than the other (supposedly much simpler). Finally, the Tomebamba catchment holds páramo processes, being its regulation capacity higher compared to the Culebrillas one, due to the exist-ence of lagoons. The performance of TOPMODEL is simpler, and, therefore, the most recommended for modeling páramo basins.