Evaluación de la presencia de metales pesados en suelos afectados por incendios forestales en una zona del Distrito Metropolitano de Quito

Abstract

Wildfires are one of the major causes of environmental degradation in Ecuador. Thousands of hectares of fire-sensitive forests are destroyed each year, human activities have altered fire regimes, as a result, fire has been seen by many institutions as an environmental disaster. The present study has been developed that aims to show the results of the physical-chemical alterations (pH, organic matter, texture, total nitrogen, apparent density, infiltration, humidity, and cation exchange capacity) that have been recorded in an area affected by wildfires in addition to evaluating the presence of heavy metals (copper, lead, cadmium, cobalt and chromium). The investigated areas, a witness zone (B) and an area affected by wildfire in September 2019 (Q) that are located on the Ilaló volcano, which has great environmental importance since it is part of the East Flank Protective Forest and Vegetation of the Pichincha Volcano and the Green Belt of Quito and which is also affected by anthropogenic activities such as tourism, recreation and agriculture, which could be the cause of new wildfires. The results of the present study reveal that the physicochemical parameters between the zone (Q) and the zone (B) present a significant difference in the following parameters: pH, apparent density, texture and humidity, in addition, it was determined that there are high levels of copper and cobalt that equal the maximum levels allowed in the current regulations and that could cause eco-toxicological problems.