Land use and land cover change (LULC) is an essential component for the monitoring environmental change and managing natural resources in areas of high natural and cultural biodiversity, such as the Amazon biome. This study was conducted in in the northern Amazon of Ecuador, specifically in the Diversity and Life Zone (DLZ) of the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve (YBR). The general aim was to investigate the territorial dynamics of land use/land cover changes to support policies for environmental and sociocultural protection in the DLZ. Specific objectives included (i) mapping LULC spatial and temporal dynamics in the DLZ in the period from 1999 to 2018, (ii) identifying sensitive LULC hotspots within the DLZ, and (iii) defining the possible policy implications for sustainable land use in the DLZ. Multitemporal satellite imagery from the Landsat series was used to map changes in LULC, which were divided into three-time stages (1999–2009, 2009–2018, 1999–2018). We adopted open-access Landsat images downloaded from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The processes for assessing LULC in the DLZ included (1) data collection and analysis, (2) data processing for remote sensing, (3) thematic land cover, and (4) homogenization and vectorization of images. The results showed that in the period 1999–2018, most of the uses and land cover were transformed into pastures in the DLZ. Therefore, it is important to improve territorial planning, to avoid conflicts between indigenous populations, migrant settlers, and uncontacted indigenous populations that live in the DLZ, within the YBR.

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Context: The progressive degradation of urban rivers has serious socio-ecological impacts, compromising the provision of ecosystem services (ES), thus affecting the quality of life of the inhabitants, however, few are integrated into the social perspective together with the diagnosis of the immaterial and non-monetary benefits as complementary knowledge to traditional approaches. Objective This work sought to add complexity to the diagnosis of the ES, through the identification and mapping of the positive and negative landscape preferences of the local community concerning the urban fluvial landscape of the Zamora and Malacatos rivers in the urban-periurban environment of the city of Loja in Ecuador. Methods This work is resolved with the dissemination of a virtual geo-form, processed with the SolVES model, a participatory mapping tool (PPGIS) that integrates social and biophysical variables. Results The value points obtained revealed different spatial patterns for each social value group. The positives exhibited more dispersed patterns, clustering in peripheral areas. The negatives were concentrated in the centre of the city. Of the ten social values studied, the most relevant were: Learning, Aesthetic, Therapeutic and Disgust, Poor and Inaccessible Infrastructure, and Flood Threat. The environmental variable with the greatest contribution was the Horizontal Distance to Green Areas. Conclusions The results help to identify possible places of conflict as well as attractive locations based on place-based knowledge, which enables a better understanding of the value of the benefits of urban rivers, further, it stimulates the inclusion of the local community in the development of more participatory management and governance and sensitive to the landscape.

La degradación o contaminación ambiental se encuentra sujeta a la presencia de metales pesados como: arsénico,cadmio, mercurio, níquel, plomo, etc., los cuales pueden tener origen geogénico (natural) o antropogénico (producidospor residuos peligrosos), estos últimos, traen consigo consecuencias negativas para la salud humana, debido a labioacumulación de elementos traza. Hoy en día, las técnicas espectrométricas, mediante la integración de tecnologíasgeoespaciales y datos multifuente, son consideradas como una alternativa a los métodos tradicionales de muestreo decampo, y su empleo cada día cobra más fuerza. El presente artículo, emplea la denominada “técnica de Crosta” paradetectar la presencia de minerales característicos existentes en el Parque Regional del Sureste de la ComunidadAutónoma de Madrid, y, por otro lado, para localizar la existencia de metales pesados. De manera cualitativa, aplicandola “composición Crosta”, se evidencia una alta concordancia entre los minerales bentonita y sepiolita con la cartografíaoficial de contraste, procedente del Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, además, se realizó una leve modificación enlas bandas de entrada de la “composición Crosta”, obteniendo una sobre estimación de los minerales. Por último, medianteuna interpretación visual de aquellas componentes principales que contienen la información espectral relativa a metalespesados, se generó un listado de coordenadas, las cuales serán validadas en campañas de campo, en donde el uso deespectroradiómetros y el análisis químico de muestras serán claves para determinar la bondad de los resultados.

Urban rivers play a crucial role in providing ecosystem services (ES) that contribute to the social well-being and quality of life of urban inhabitants. However, rapid urbanisation has led to the progressive degradation of these rivers, affecting their capacity to deliver ES and resulting in significant socio-ecological impacts. This study performs a participatory mapping of the non-monetary social values (positives and negatives), in the urban Zamora and Malacatos Rivers and their ESs, in Loja, Ecuador, to understand community perceptions and preferences in a context of degraded landscapes as a complementary category of analysis to traditional approaches. Methodologically, the collection, analysis and mapping were carried out using public participation GIS (PPGIS) based on surveys. This method facilitated the integration of social data with biophysical variables. The most relevant of the ten social values studied were positives: Learning, Aesthetic, Therapeutic and negatives: Displeasure, Deficient and Inaccessible Infrastructure and Threat of Flooding. We revealed different spatial patterns for each ES social value, where positive value locations exhibited a dispersed pattern, with clusters in peripheral areas, while negative value locations exhibited a clustered pattern in the city centre. The environmental variable with the most significant contribution was the Horizontal Distance to Green Areas. These findings enhance our understanding of the social values and preferences associated with ES in urban river contexts. Furthermore, they provide valuable insights for identifying areas of opportunity and conflict, informing community planning and effective management of the urban landscape.