Identificación de los servicios ecosistémicos de la comunidad plantónica junto a una propuesta de desarrollo y uso sostenible del humedal Córdoba, a partir de indicadores de calidad ambiental integrado (ICAI)

Abstract

The Córdoba Wetland District Ecological Park is a protected area with a total of 40.4 hectares, which offers a wide range of ecosystem services, since it is an important reservoir of biodiversity, in this area the planktonic communities lead a complex food web product of its constant development through time and space, which in turn help in water purification and nutrient retention. In the present work, the ecosystem services offered by the planktonic community of the Córdoba wetland were identified, highlighting its important role as a primary producer of the food chain, carbon sequestration, organic matter decomposition and oxygen production, among others. It was carried out from a characterization of morphotypes present in 12 monitoring points distributed in the three sectors that make up the same, during three different seasons (July, August, September) of the year 2021. This information was corroborated through a qualitative analysis. where a taxonomic identification (presence-absence of individuals) was carried out in the laboratory. At the same time, an analysis was quantitatively carried out using descriptive statistics, determining the spatial and temporal behavior of the identified morphotypes, based on the above through the PAST model, the Alpha diversity indices were calculated, in order to determine the predominance of the morphotypes that were later considered as bioindicators to establish the supply of ecosystem services by plankton. The phytoplankton community was represented by a total of 83 morphotypes and 2562 individuals, of these, the most representative and therefore considered indicators were Oscillatoria sp, Frustulia sp, Euglena sp and Phacus sp, while the Zooplankton community was composed of 508 individuals. distributed in 66 morphotypes, standing out Macrotrochela sp, Brachionus sp, Filinia sp and Arcella; Based on these morphotypes, the bioindication of the water body is associated with waters with organic contamination and in the process of eutrophication. For the analysis of the behavior of the physicochemical parameters, the ICATEST v1.0® Software was used to determine the quality of the water according to the National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSF). With these results, the relationship between these parameters was determined, together with the planktonic biodiversity identified through the creation of an integrated environmental quality index (ICAI). For the conformation of the ICAI, a graphic analysis of quartiles and medians (Box plot) was carried out, with which the sensitivity of the planktonic diversity indices and physicochemical parameters was identified according to the intervened and non-intervened areas, to determine those more representative that were integrated into the ICAI formula, these variables were Shannon, Simpson, Margalef, OD, Conductivity and PO4. From the exposed results, a last Box-plot was elaborated by means of which the evaluation and interpretation ranges of the ICAI were established. It was obtained that sector 3 has the best environmental quality of the wetland as it is characteristic of an oligotrophic ecosystem, followed by sector 2 with intermediate and good quality, that is, with mesotrophic conditions and tendencies towards oligotrophy; and finally sector 1 had a medium quality, characterized by its mesotrophy. A Spearman correlation was carried out in Software R, to determine if the variables have a relationship between them, in addition to predicting the behavior of one variable based on others. Finally, with respect to the information obtained in the study, a proposal for sustainable use and management was made, focused on improving the water component and the biodiversity of the planktonic community.