Combining Traditional Hydrometric Data, Isotope Tracers and Biophysical Landscape Characteristics to Improve the Understanding of Landscape Hydrology in the Humid Andes

Abstract:

Only few catchments in the Andean mountain range are currently monitored. Most basins in the region remain ungauged, and as a result, little knowledge is available on the processes governing their hydrological behavior. In particular, despite the importance of tropical alpine grasslands of the northern Andes (commonly known as the páramo) as providers of abundant high-quality water for downstream populations as well as a variety of other environmental services, very little is known about their hydrologic functioning. To improve this situation, an analysis of 1) the isotopic signature of oxygen-18, and 2) the relations between various landscape attributes and hydrologic behavior in the Zhurucay River experimental catchment (7.53 km2) was conducted. The catchment is located in southern Ecuador between 3200 and 3900 m asl The isotopic analysis was conducted in water samples collected in rainfall, streamflow …

Año de publicación:

2014

Keywords:

Fuente:

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