Abstract

BENJUMEA-HOYOS, Carlos A.; SUAREZ-SEGURA, Mayra A.  and  VILLABONA-GONZALEZ, Silvia Lucía. Temporary and spatial variation of nutrients and total suspended solids in the basin of a high mountain tropical river. Rev. acad. colomb. cienc. exact. fis. nat. [online]. 2018, vol.42, n.165, pp.353-363. ISSN 0370-3908.  https://doi.org/10.18257/raccefyn.777.

Freshwater ecosystems are highly sensitive to anthropic disturbances and daily activities in which water is an essential resource for industrial development and for domestic use have led to speed up early natural eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems resulting in water quality deterioration. In order to understand temporal and spatial changes of nutrients concentrations (nitrogen and phosphorus) and of the total suspended solids in the Río Negro, we collected information from high, medium and low basin stretches during the dry and rainy seasons, as well as during the transition from dry to rainy periods between 2010 and 2014. Our results show that Rio Negro tributary ravines La Pereira, La Cimarrona and La Marinilla are of high environmental priority as they presented the highest concentrations of nutrients and suspended solids and this is negatively affecting the Rio Negro water quality, especially in the stretch known as Puente-Autopista RN5 where these tributaries converge. In addition, we found that climatic variability phenomena such as the ENSO system, in this case, the rainy season (La Niña) seriously impact the river increasing suspended solids concentrations while the dry season favors an increase in nutrient concentrations.

Keywords : Phosphorus; Nitrogen; Eutrophication; Suspended material; Basin.

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