Abstract

RODRIGUEZ CONTRERAS, Francia Elizabeth; MARTINEZ RIVERA, Luis Manuel  and  ORTIZ-ARRONA, Claudia Irene. Level of ecohydrological alteration in perennial rivers of the Ayuquila-Armeria river basin. Biotecnia [online]. 2020, vol.22, n.2, pp.28-38.  Epub Aug 07, 2020. ISSN 1665-1456.  https://doi.org/10.18633/biotecnia.v22i2.1243.

The Ayuquila-Armeria river is the largest basin in the state of Colima and the third in Jalisco, with an area of 9,796 km2. Anthropogenic pressures, such as point or diffuse pollution, water withdrawals, flow regulation, among others, exerted on the basins can alter the quality, quantity and / or temporality of the water, the morphology of the riverbed, biodiversity and its riverbanks mainly. The objective was to identify the main ecohydrological alterations of the perennial rivers in the Ayuquila-Armeria basin. 45 micro-basins of the perennial rivers in the basin were delimited. The degree of ecohydrological alteration was evaluated through a multicriteria analysis following the methodology of Garrido and collaborators using 13 variables at three hierarchical levels: river network, riverine area and hydrographic micro-basin. A non-existent analysis exists so far. Thirty three percent of the basin is classified with a “high” level of alteration and almost 55 % with a “very low” level. These results differ from those obtained at the national level, where they classify the Ayuquila-Armeria basin with a “high” ecohydrological alteration level. Micro-basins with a higher level of ecohydrological alteration are affected by the modification in the infrastructure of the river network, related to agriculture.

Keywords : ecohydrological alteration; fluvial network; riparian zone; micro basin.