Evaluación de la regulación del recurso hídrico por procesos de restauración ecológica en el Parque Nacional Natural Chingaza

Abstract

The Chingaza paramo has been historically affected by anthropic activities that have deteriorated the ecosystem, altered the natural vegetation patterns and the water regulation capacity of the area, consequently, and considering its importance in supplying 70% of the water to the capital district of Colombia, is constantly undergoing processes of ecological restoration, of which its influence on the restoration of the ecosystem service of water regulation in degraded areas is unknown. In this study, a methodology is implemented based on the analysis of coverage that, through the treatment of variables in soil, botanical material and an adaptation of the general equation of water balance allows to evaluate the effectiveness of ecological restoration processes in terms of quantity of water that re-enters the water cycle, in a plot near the river mouth of the Frio river in the lagoon of Chingaza (Latitude 4 ° 31 '094N Longitude 73 ° 45' 217W). The results show that there is a difference of 55 percentage points between the zone without intervention with 3,00% of losses (while the amount of water that remains in one phase of the cycle is considered as loss) and the area in grasses with 58, 47%, allowing us to conclude that the type of vegetation coverage drastically affects the re-entry of water into the hydrological cycle, that the processes of ecological restoration have a direct influence on water regulation and, therefore, on the regional water balance. The research proposes a methodology that adapted to the characteristics of an environment will allow the assessment and monitoring of the behavior of water regulation in restoration projects.