© 2022 IIETA. This article is published by IIETA and is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
OPEN ACCESS
Riparian forests or gallery forests are groups that are distributed throughout a body of water, it fulfils important ecological functions and at the same time supplies communities with the vital liquid. The objective of this work is to evaluate the ecological status of the forests in the sites of the river margins (Pacora, Juan Díaz and Matasnillo) applying the QBR index to the transept of 50 linear meters in each one of the rivers to be studied. This being a pioneering study in the country, the results that will be obtained will be a record for future studies in Latin America. It was carried out using the field form, which consists of four blocks that allow the quality of the riparian forest, rated according to degree of cover of the riverside area, structure of the roof, quality of the roof and degree of naturalness of the river channel. The lowest indices were obtained by the Matasnillo river with percentages of 5%, 10% and 15%, and the highest percentages in the Juan Diaz river basin and the Pacora river with 100% in the headwaters; identifying that the watersheds that have less anthropic intervention have a better forest quality; concluding that the results of the ecological status of the evaluated basins show that in places with greater human settlements, the degradation of the riparian forest increases.
ecosystem, evaluation, forest, index, Panama, QBR, quality, riverbank, rivers, water systems
[1] Ecological and Environmental characterization of white roll as a natural space to define the reference conditions in extension of the directive, online https://www.researchgate.net/publication/45372438_Caracterizacion_ecologica_y_ambiental_del_Arroyo_Blanco_como_espacio_natural_para_definir_las_condiciones_de_referencia_en_aplicacion_de_la_Directiva_Marco_del_Agua. Accessed on: 15 Nov. 2021.
[2] S tructure and composition of the riparian vegetation of the Tembembe riverravine, Morelos, Mexico. Online https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26549415_Estructura_y_composicion_de_la_vegetacion_riberena_de_la_barranca_del_rio_Tembembe_Morelos_Mexico. Accessed on: 15 Nov. 2021.
[3] A ssessment of riparian forest quality, using a simple and fast method in two tropical dry forest rivers (Tolima, Colombia). Online. file:///C:/Users/Monti/Downloads/Dialnet-EvaluacionDeLaCalidadDelBosqueDeRiberaUtilizandoUn-5644630.pdf. Accessed on: 15 Nov. 2021.
[4] T he problem of Boques. Online https://www.ecoportal.net/temas-especiales/suelos/el_problema_de_los_bosques/ Accessed on: 15 Nov 2021.
[5] Evaluation of riverbank and river habitat through the QBR and IHF indices. Online https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-65382009000100009 Accessed on: 15 Nov. 2021.
[6] Quality of the riverside forest of the El Tunal river, Durango, Mexico; by applying the QBR index. Online https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262462060_Calidad_del_bosque_de_ribera_del_rio_El_Tunal_Durango_Mexico_mediante_la_aplicacion_del_indice_QBR Accessed on: 29 Nov. 2021.
[7] FAO 2015, informe regional. Online http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries_regions/pan/printesp1.stm Accessed on: 15 Nov. 2021.
[8] MUNNÉ et al. A Simple Field Method for Assessing the Ecological Quality of Riparian Habitat in Rivers and Streams: Qbr Index. Aquatic Conservation: Marine And Freshwater Ecosystem. 148, 152. 2003.
[9] DELIMITATION OF RIVERBANKS AND STREAMS. Online https://agua.org.mx/biblioteca/delimitacion-de-riberas-de-rios-y-arroyos/ Accessed on: 16 Nov. 2021.