Vulnerability Characteristics of Wetlands in the Páramo of Guaranda, Central Ecuador—Implications of Long-Term Sustainability

Wetlands are transcendental ecosystems of great ecological importance that offer diverse goods and services to the nearby populations. Unfortunately, during the last years, they have suffered affectations and variations in their physical, biological, and chemical characteristics, as well as the decrease or loss of their flora and fauna. The current research obtained knowledge of vulnerabilities through a scientific-technical, socio-cultural, socio-economic, and socio-environmental exercise closely linked to its administrative dimension, which has been adjusted to descriptive trans-sectional designs and correlations-causals in a determined space of time. For the identification of the vulnerability factors of the wetlands, their equilibrium as an ecosystem, Biocenosis-Biotype, is considered. The system equilibrium calculations are conducted by using a variable categorization matrix, the operationalization of the variables, with the ecosystem equilibrium equation (EECO), calculating the result of the correspondence between the variables defined as Biotope, Edaphotope, Biotype, Biocenosis, Biocides, Limiting factors, using the mathematical relation. Finally, the value obtained has led to determining the equilibrium using the table corresponding to the interrelation between ecosystem variables and categories. The results indicate that the balance of the wetland ecosystem maintains a tendency of risk of disappearance with values from 0.33 to 2.00. Its vulnerability is medium, with a tendency to increase. Among the impacts are the decrease in native plant and animal species, the degree of water contamination due to the dynamics of occupation, as well as changes in the geographical space of the wetlands.