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The Dagua river basin, in Colombia, is the most important source of water for the Valle del Cauca ecosystem, however, due to poor agricultural practices, it has been affected by water erosion. This study aimed at estimating soil erosion in the Dagua river basin, using the universal soil loss equation (USLE). The results show that most of the area presents erosivities that are between 1000-5000 MJ.mm.ha-1, corresponding to low and very low categories. On the other hand, erodibility ranged from 0.143 to 0.842 t. ha.h. MJ-1 mm-1 ha-1, which is framed in the categories from weak to extremely erodable, where the low to medium category predominates. Regarding soil losses due to erosion, it was found that more than 20% of each of the municipalities of Dagua, Restrepo, La Cumbre, and Vijes, showed high and very high erosion, particularly in the areas with bare soils and crops such as pineapple, contribute strongly, sometimes reaching over 1000 t ha-1 yr-1. Therefore, it is important to promote practices such as contour or contour planting, integrated crop cover management, land uses that integrate trees, and in more critical cases to consider ecological restoration processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Andes are characterized by an abundance of water resources and flows are frequently regulated by reservoirs for the generation of energy. The effects of regulation on aquatic macroinvertebrate communities are not well known in Colombia. Objective: To test the hypothesis that regulated currents have less macroinvertebrate diversity. Methods: We collected water and organism samples before, and after, the regulation of the Tafetanes, Calderas and Arenosa rivers, in Antioquia, Colombia, during various hydrological cycles (rain, transition and drought) and climatic phenomena (ENSO/El Niño Phenomenon) between 2016 and 2018. Results: We collected 53 214 individuals, from 165 taxa, mostly from the orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera and Diptera (90 % of captures). Changes in diversity responded to spatial differences rather than to physicochemical variables: diversity was higher in non-regulated sites, regardless of the hydrological period or associated ENSO. Most species were found in all sampling sites, but abundance was higher in the site with the best habitat conservation status. Conclusion: The results support the hypothesis that physical barriers have effects on macroinvertebrate diversity at the local scale, however, the condition of adjacent habitats also seems to play an important role in preserving richness and abundance. The conservation of forest adjacent to the riverbed could mitigate the impacts of regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure and floristic composition of riparian forest in the sub-Andean basin of the river Yumbillo in the municipality of Yumbo, Valle del Cauca, eastern slope of the western cordillera of the Andes, Colombia were analyzed. By 20 plots of 100 m2, in the altitude range between 1500 to 2235 m., Data was recorded in individuals with a diameter of a breast height (DBH) ≥ 10 cm, floristic composition and vertical and horizontal structure by calculation of abundance, frequency, dominance and importance value index (IVI). The floristic composition consisted of 825 individuals in 93 species, 71 genera and 50 botanical families, the dominant families were Myrtaceae, Lauraceae, Melastomataceae, Moraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fagaceae, and Tiliaceae acanthaceae. The species were heavier ecological Truco (Hyeronima sp) and the most frequent were Truco (Hyeronima scabrida), Roble (Quercus humboldtii) and the "Higueron de nacimiento" (Ficus Apollinaris). The highest values corresponded to species of importance such as Truco (Hyeronima scabrida) Arrayan (Myrcia sp), Nacedero (Trichanthera), Otobo (Dialyanthera lehemannii) and Naranjuelo (Lacistema aggregatum). Vertical structure was categorized into three strata, 508 individuals in the I (3 and 16 m), 270 in the II (17 and 23 m) and 47 in the Emerging (heights above 24 m). It was concluded that the riparian forest has high and typical pioneer species of forest recovery, highlighted the presence of Medio comino (Ocotea sp) threatened timber species that can be part of ecological restoration actions and floristic enrichment in areas of riparian forest and watershed protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the rumor of conspiracy in New-Granada, located in Latin America, at the end of the 18th century. In 1794, after the discovery of personal letters expressing the influence of French philosophers of the Enlightenment in New-Granada, and the propagation of revolutionary ideas, the rumor that a conspiracy existed against the government of the country appeared. The author adds that the translation of the French document "The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen," by Antonio Nariño, also nourished the rumor. The implication of the vice king Ezpeleta in the promulgation of French culture is also noted.

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Environmental services (ES) related to natural ecosystems are seriously threatened by local activities and global warming. The ES related to water and its effect on quality and quantity in watersheds that supply aqueducts and irrigation systems has great social and economic importance. For Bogotá-Colombia the ES of páramos and cloudy forest in the Chingaza basin represents US$18.2 million per year. For water supply in the city of Quito-Ecuador, the negative effect of climate change (CC) related to the contraction of glaciers represents a 31% increase in investments versus the scenario without CC. Measures must be taken to ensure the permanence of ES and mitigate the effects of CC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]