Influencia de la vía Cuenca - Molleturo sobre la concentración de plomo, la respiración microbiana y las condiciones del suelo en el Parque Nacional Cajas, Ecuador

Abstract

Transport routes around the world are known to produce negative effects and pollution on various ecosystems. For this reason, the aim of this research work was to assess the influence of the Cuenca–Molleturo-Naranjal route on lead concentration, microbial respiration and the main chemical characteristics of the soil (pH, CE, Eh) in the PNC, Ecuador. For analysis, three sampling sites were established at the entrance, half and exit of the park in which soil samples (0-20 cm) were taken, next to the road (0 m) and away from the road (30 m); for microbial respiration n=3, lead n=2, pH n=3, CE n=3, Eh n=3 and apparent density n=3. The average values along and away from the pathway were 0.72-0.65 g cm-3 , 5.89-5.51, 96.76-67.37 μS cm-1 and 303.59-323.46 mV for apparent density, pH, CE and Eh respectively, 0.63-0.51 g m-2 d -1 ; for microbial respiration, 34.36-28.84 mg kg -1 for Pb. The results indicated a pathway influence on chemical parameters by showing a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between the values of near and distant pathway sites for pH, CE and Eh, as opposed to microbial respiration and Pb where no differences were found. However, the concentration of Pb in soils exceeds by 1.7 the permissible limit stipulated in Ecuador’s soil quality criteria which is 19 mg kg-1.