Evaluating watershed health in Costa Rican national parks and protected areas

Jovanelly, Tamie J.; Rodríguez-Montero, L.; Sánchez-Gutiérrez, Rolando; Mena-Rivera, Leonardo; Thomas, D

doi:10.1007/s40899-020-00431-6

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The role of PA has been widely regarded in Costa Rica (Leguía et al, 2008; Kappelle, 2016; Jovanelly et al, 2020), but they did not repair specifically in the wetland ecosystems. Our results demonstrated that the main difference in vulnerability between these ecosystems in Costa Rica are the occurrence of affecting human activities around them in the first place and the land ownership of their location the second.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Costa Rican wetlands vulnerability index

Veas-Ayala

Alfaro-Córdoba

Quesada‐Román

2022

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

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Costa Rica comprises approximately 6% of the world’s biodiversity. Among these lush ecosystems, wetlands are represented in mangrove forests near the sea, along river lowlands, sedimentary and volcanic mountains, and highland páramo landscapes. In 2018, the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), through the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) carried out the new National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) which identified 10,699 wetland polygons. This assessment collected key information such as location, characteristics of the wetland, land use in the vicinity, threats, and other generalities. Based on these valuable results, we propose a wetland Vulnerability Index composed of a Condition Index and a Hazard Index to determine the different vulnerability conditions of each wetland unit. Our findings provide a better comprehension of the status of wetlands in Costa Rica with an environmental geography perspective. Located in a climate change hotspot, Costa Rica’s conservation policies and actions should consider how to manage the most vulnerable wetlands at different scales. This methodology can improve and generate regional and national wetlands inventories as a basis for evidence-based decision making in other latitudes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Costa Rican wetlands vulnerability index

Veas-Ayala

Alfaro-Córdoba

Quesada‐Román

2022

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

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“…Surface water runoff from most protected areas may be a source of pollution in streams, marshes, rivers, lakes, and seas, which is a source of worry in many metropolitan areas [30][31][32]. During precipitation events, vegetation (trees and bushes) intercepts some of the precipitation, while the rest reaches the ground (Figure 16 shows the tree species in the study area and the avoided runoff of each).…”

Section: Avoided Runoffmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity Conservation of National Parks and Nature-protected Areas in West Africa: The Case of Kainji National Park, Nigeria

Tang¹,

Adesina²

2022

Preprint

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Due to rising global warming and climate change, biodiversity protection has become a critical ecological concern. The rich biodiversity zones are under threat and are deteriorating, necessitating national, regional, and provincial efforts to safeguard these natural areas. The effective conservation of National Parks and Nature-protected Areas helps to improve biodiversity conservation, forest, and urban air quality. The continuous encroachment and abuse of these protected areas have degraded the ecosystem over time. While exploring the geophysical ecology and biodiversity conservation of these areas in West Africa, Kainji National Park was selected for this study because of its notable location, naturalness, rich habitat diversity, topographic uniqueness, and landmass. The conservation of national parks and nature-protected areas is a cornerstone of biodiversity conservation globally. This study is aimed at the target of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13, 2030- Climate Action, targeted at taking urgent action towards combating climate change and its impacts. The study captures both flora and fauna that are dominant in the study area. The 15 identified tree species were selected from over 30 species with 563,500,000 (an average of 3,700,000 in each sample frame) trees for every tree species/type with a total of 63% tree green canopy cover. The study areas divided into three zones were randomly sampled within a stratum of 25x25km frames divided into 150 sample frames for proper analyses using the i-Tree Eco v6.0.23. The following microclimatic data were captured and analyzed; photosynthetically active radiation, rain/precipitation, temperature, transpiration, evaporation, water intercepted by trees, avoided a runoff by trees, potential evaporation by trees, isoprene and monoterpene by trees. This study also further discusses the tree benefits of a green, low carbon, and sustainable environment within the context of biodiversity conservation considering carbon storage, carbon sequestration, hydrology effects, pollution removal, oxygen production, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). There is a quick need for remotely-sensed information about the protected areas at regular intervals and government policies must be strict against illegal poaching, logging activities and other hazardous human impacts.

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“…Lo anterior queda evidenciado a partir de la aplicación de los índices de calidad, cuyos resultados permiten argumentar que los patrones de contaminación que prevalecen en la zona generan un efecto similar en la calidad del agua superficial; sin embargo, estos pueden manifestarse afectados en cuanto a variabilidad según la época, aspecto que concuerda con la tendencia general y global de un cuerpo de agua superficial, los cuales son considerados altamente heterogéneos, en términos de calidad de agua, al estudiarse en diferentes épocas (Jovanelly et al, 2020;Qadir, Malik y Husain, 2008;Wu et al, 2018). Particularmente, la mayor afectación de la calidad del agua durante la época lluviosa puede asociarse a la mayor escorrentía de contaminantes al cuerpo de agua que puede materializarse, así como a la alteración de los parámetros de calidad a razón del aumento del volumen de agua en el río (Ayandiran et al, 2018;Phiri et al, 2005;Waziri & Akinniyi, 2012).…”

Section: Determinación De Calidad Del Agua Y Aplicación De íNdices De...unclassified

Calidad del agua superficial y presiones socioambientales en la microcuenca alta del río Poás

Arce-Villalobos¹,

Sánchez-Gutiérrez²,

Centeno-Morales³

et al. 2022

Uniciencia

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El objetivo de esta investigación fue determinar la relación entre la calidad del agua superficial en la parte alta de la microcuenca del río Poás y las principales presiones socioambientales que pueden alterar este factor. Para ello se realizó un estudio exploratorio, con enfoque cuantitativo, donde se identificaron las principales presiones socioambientales que experimenta el recurso hídrico en la zona. Además, se analizó la calidad del agua superficial a través de indicadores físicos, químicos y microbiólogos, para la aplicación de dos índices de calidad. Se encontraron seis presiones socioambientales de impacto negativo al recurso, materializadas a través de acciones puntuales ejecutadas desde el hogar y otras actividades de tipo socioeconómico. A pesar de que la evidencia mostró cumplimiento mayoritario de los parámetros analizados con los criterios de calidad sugeridos a nivel nacional e internacional, los índices revelaron niveles de contaminación incipiente, además de calidad buena y media. Estadísticamente, se encontró que la calidad del agua de la microcuenca no varía espacialmente; sin embargo, sí lo hace de manera temporal, debido a la incidencia de los patrones de lluvia en la zona. Este hallazgo, en conjunto con la determinación de correlaciones significativas entre los parámetros monitoreados, contribuyó a reconocer que los sitios analizados en época lluviosa mantienen mayor relación con parámetros asociados con contaminación orgánica debido a procesos de escorrentía y descarga de agua residual. Por tanto, se plantea la necesidad de coordinar esfuerzos que garanticen la sostenibilidad de la microcuenca, que mejoren la infraestructura sanitaria local, fortalezcan los procesos de gestión del agua y se dirijan al establecimiento de una red de monitoreo desde un marco de referencia con visión de cuenca.

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Evaluating watershed health in Costa Rican national parks and protected areas

Cited by 12 publications

References 41 publications

Costa Rican wetlands vulnerability index

Costa Rican wetlands vulnerability index

Biodiversity Conservation of National Parks and Nature-protected Areas in West Africa: The Case of Kainji National Park, Nigeria

Calidad del agua superficial y presiones socioambientales en la microcuenca alta del río Poás

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