A Framework to Incorporate Biological Soil Quality Indicators into Assessing the Sustainability of Territories in the Ecuadorian Amazon

In Amazonian Ecuador, land-use change from tropical rainforest to different productive purposes is leading to irreversible situations from an environmental perspective. The objective of this paper was to highlight the significance of the biological components in the soils in Amazonian Ecuador, and t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSustainability Vol. 12; no. 7; p. 3007
Main Authors Huera-Lucero, Thony, Labrador-Moreno, Juana, Blanco-Salas, José, Ruiz-Téllez, Trinidad
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.04.2020
Subjects
Agricultural production
Agroforestry
Biodiversity
Decision making
Ecosystems
Environmental economics
Forests
Indicators
Invertebrates
Land use
Livestock
Quality
Quality assessment
Rainforests
Soil analysis
Soil contamination
Soil erosion
Soil fertility
Soil properties
Soil quality
Sustainability
Sustainable development
Ecuador
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Summary:In Amazonian Ecuador, land-use change from tropical rainforest to different productive purposes is leading to irreversible situations from an environmental perspective. The objective of this paper was to highlight the significance of the biological components in the soils in Amazonian Ecuador, and the importance of considering biological soil quality indexes when assessing environmental impacts in the soils of tropical Pan-Amazonian areas. Since the literature on the subject is dispersed and inaccessible, a bibliographic review was conducted, with the aim of compiling protocols and proposals for practical utilization. We compiled tables, including specific indicators from the biological point of view. We present the available methods for assessing the sustainability of Amazonian territories through the analysis of soil quality. Our contribution facilitates an edaphic perspective to be taken into account in decision-making processes for sustainable territorial development.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su12073007