Identification and mapping of Colombian inland wetlands

Abstract (en):

Wetlands are considered strategic ecosystems in Colombia. They play an essential role in water regulation, especially in extreme rainfall events or drought as El Nino and La Nina. Despite that, Colombia did not have a national wetland map. The Humboldt Institute, with the Adaptation Fund support and in partnership with Ideam, built the Identification Wetlands Map of Colombia Inland Territory using official information available at 1:100.000 of soils, geomorphology and associated wetland vegetation coverage. Additionally, a flood frequency map obtained from radar satellite images was integrated; it provided information of the spatial and temporal ecosystem dynamics. We identified 30.781.149 hectares of wetlands (26.99% of the national inland area) distributed in the following categories: open or under canopy permanent wetlands, temporary wetlands, and medium and low potential wetlands. The largest category is temporary wetlands with 17.861.536 ha. The thematic map accuracy was performed through 19 windows and 3176 points with a score of 75.79% total accuracy. To deal such magnitude of national wetlands area, it is necessary to develop policies and actions that enable differentiated management and recognize the identity of each wetland category.

Abstract (es):

Los humedales son considerados ecosistemas estratégicos en Colombia y cumplen un papel esencial en la regulación hídrica especialmente en periodos de extrema lluvia o sequía como El Niño y La Niña. Dado que no existía una cartografía nacional de humedales, el Instituto Humboldt con el apoyo del Fondo Adaptación y en asocio con el Ideam, construyó el Mapa de Identificación de Humedales Continentales de Colombia a partir de la información oficial disponible de suelos, geomorfología y coberturas de la tierra asociadas a humedal a escala 1:100.000. Adicionalmente, se integró el mapa de frecuencias de inundación generado con imágenes satelitales de radar para incorporar la dinámica espacial y temporal del ecosistema. En total se identificaron 30.781.149 hectáreas de humedal (26,99 % del área continental nacional) distribuidas en las categorías: a) permanentes abierto o bajo dosel; b) temporales y c) potenciales medio y bajo. Los humedales temporales fueron la categoría con mayor área (17.861.536 ha). La evaluación temática del mapa contó con 3176 puntos en 19 ventanas y arrojó una exactitud total de 75,79 %. Frente a un área nacional de tal magnitud, se hace evidente la necesidad de generar políticas y acciones de manejo diferenciadas que permitan gestionar cada categoría de forma adecuada.

Keywords:

Cartografía humedales, Ecosistemas acuáticos, Frecuencias de inundación, Humedales permanentes y temporales (es)

Dimensions

PlumX

Visitas

1470

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

How to Cite

Flórez, C., Estupiñán-Suárez, L. M., Rojas, S., Aponte, C., Quiñones, M., Acevedo, Óscar, … Jaramillo Villa, Úrsula. (2016). Identification and mapping of Colombian inland wetlands. Biota Colombiana, 17(Supl. 1). https://doi.org/10.21068/C2016s01a03

The works published in the journals of the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute are subject to the following terms, in relation to copyright:

1. The patrimonial rights of the published works are assigned to Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt. The authors or institutions that elaborate the document agree to transfer the patrimonial rights to the Humboldt Institute with the sending of their articles, which allows, among other things, the reproduction, public communication, dissemination and dissemination of works.

2. The works of digital editions are published under a Creative Commons Colombia license:

Licencia de Creative Commons

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivar 4.0 Internacional.

> Attribution - Non-commercial - No Derivative: This license is the most restrictive of the six main licenses, it only allows others to download the works and share them with others, as long as their authorship is acknowledged, but they cannot be changed in any way, nor can they be used commercially.

3. The authors, when submitting articles to the editorial process of the magazines published by the Humboldt Institute, accept the institutional dispositions on copyright and open access.

4. All items received will be subjected to anti-plagiarism software. The submission of an article to the magazines of the Humboldt Institute is understood as the acceptance of the review to detect possible plagiarism.

5. The works submitted to the editing process of the magazines of the Humboldt Institute must be unpublished.