Influencia de los nutrientes del suelo sobre el crecimiento arbóreo en bosques del Pacífico colombiano

Tree growth has great relevance in mitigating climate change. It has been suggested that, in tropical forests, growth is related to edaphic fertility. Given that the Colombian Pacific is a rainy region with nutrient-poor soils, the way in which edaphic conditions explain tree growth was evaluated. To this effect, the tree diameter growth (CDA) was determined at the level of plots, species, and ecological groups, and it was related to the physical and chemical variables of the soil. It was observed that the CDA in trees with low wood density was positively correlated with organic matter (MO), nitrogen, and sand, and it was negatively correlated with with P, silt, and clay. The Fabaceae family was positively correlated with pH, MO, nitrogen, magnesium, and sand, and negatively so with the effective cation exchange capacity (CICE), silt, clay, and aluminum. Consequently, a multiple nutritional limitation was corroborated, which highlights the fact that growth can be conditioned by abundant nutrients in the soil, not only by their limiting scarcity.El crecimiento arbóreo tiene gran relevancia en la mitigación del cambio climático. Se ha planteado que, en bosques tropicales, el crecimiento está relacionado con la fertilidad edáfica. Dado que el Pacífico colombiano es una región lluviosa y con suelos pobres en nutrientes, se evaluó cómo las condiciones edáficas explican el crecimiento arbóreo. Para ello se determinó el crecimiento diamétrico arbóreo (CDA) a nivel de parcelas, especies y grupos ecológicos, y se relacionó con las variables físicas y químicas del suelo. Se observó que el CDA en árboles con baja densidad de madera se correlacionó de manera positiva con la materia orgánica (MO), nitrógeno y arena, y de manera negativa con fósforo, limo y arcilla. La familia Fabaceae se correlacionó positivamente con pH, MO, nitrógeno, magnesio y arena, y negativamente con la capacidad de intercambio catiónica efectiva (CICE), limo, arcilla y aluminio. Por consiguiente, se corroboró una limitación nutricional múltiple, que resalta que el crecimiento puede ser condicionado por nutrientes abundantes del suelo, no solo por su escasez limitante

Chocó bio-innovador y sustentable

La formulación del Plan Estratégico Regional en Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación del departamento del Chocó (PERCTI) tiene como propósito central señalar el camino para fortalecer el desarrollo propio e intercambio de mejores prácticas en sectores claves; reconocer la formación de expertos en áreas temáticas priorizadas; fortalecer la capacitación del talento humano mediante el aprovechamiento de capacidades instaladas en el territorio; coadyuvar a la transferencia de tecnologías necesarias para impulsar el desarrollo endógeno sustentable y, por supuesto, incentivar la incorporación de conocimiento científico y tecnológico en la cotidianidad de las personas para mejorar su calidad de vida

Monitoring ecological change during rapid socio-economic and political transitions: Colombian ecosystems in the post-conflict era

After more than 50-years of armed conflict, Colombia is now transitioning to a more stable social and political climate due to a series of peace agreements between the government and different armed groups. Consequences of these socio-economic and political changes on ecosystems are largely uncertain, but there is growing concern about derived increases in environmental degradation. Here, we review the capacity of Colombia to monitor the state of its ecosystems and their rate of change over time. We found several important programs currently set in place by different institutions as well as by independent groups of scientists that address different aspects of environmental monitoring. However, most of the current initiatives could be improved in terms of data coverage, quality and access, and could be better articulated among each other. We propose a set of activities that would increase the capacity of Colombia to monitor its ecosystems, provide useful information to policy makers, and facilitate scientific research. These include: 1) the establishment of a national center for ecological synthesis that focuses on analyzing existing information; 2) the establishment of an ecological observatory system that collects new information, integrates remote sensing products, and produces near real-time products on key ecological variables; and 3) the creation of new platforms for dialog and action within existing scientific and policy groups. © 2017 The Author