Relación entre la vegetación nativa y la producción hídrica media en la subcuenca hidrográfica del río Casacay, provincia El Oro

Abstract

The objective of this research work was to identify, evaluate and relate the native vegetation of the Casacay River sub-basin with precipitation and mean flow variables. The methodology used involved modeling the watershed using the QGIS geographic information system, performing a supervised classification with Semi-Automatic Classification Plugin and obtaining the data of the variables to be correlated by using Python programming language in Google Earth Engine to extract data from MODIS and GPM. The results obtained were not as expected according to the hypothesis. The sub-basin mean flow has a weak relationship with the sub-basin EVI, giving us to understand that there are probably other variables that have a much stronger relationship. On the other hand, precipitation and sub-basin EVI showed a null relationship, due to the phenology present in the sub-basin. Finally, the variables of precipitation and flow were also related and showed a strong correlation, demonstrating the importance of precipitation on river flow.