Determinación de eutrofización a partir de la salubridad de sus nutrientes, en la laguna urbana Valle Hermoso del cantón Guano.

Abstract

The urban ponds generally undergo eutrophication processes due to the abundance of nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen in their water. These ponds have a paramount importance because of their services to the ecosystem, such as: landscaping, irrigation and CO₂ sinks. The objective of this investigation was to determine the eutrophication of the urban pond Valle Hermoso in Guano canton, taking as a point of departure the nutrients’ healthiness of this pond. Five monitoring points were installed in this pond and physicochemical parameters like: pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, temperature and water transparency (with Secchi disk) were measured in situ. Also, the nitrites, nitrates, sulfates, phosphates, ammoniacal nitrogen, total phosphorus and total organic carbon were analyzed in the laboratory using the spectrophotometric methods; fulfilling this way, the APHA (American Public Health Association) protocols. The chlorophyll a, was determined using the trichromatic method. The results of phosphorus, chlorophyll a, and water transparency (determined with the Secchi Disk) obtained, gave the authors the opportunity to evaluate the eutrophication using the criteria stablished by Carlson 1977. The significant correlation determined in the statistical package IBN SPSS 24 was: total phosphates phosphorus, which determined the eutrophic behavior of this pond. The inefficient public management of this resource, which is reflected in the anthropic activities that are developed around this body of water and related with the eutrophic analysis, provided objective results of the condition of this pond. The Total TSI (Trophic state index) was 83,55 in a low water level period that covered the months of June, July, August and September, 2018.