The technical and scientific analysis regarding studies of the water surface or groundwater has increasingly taken on a great social impact, which has led to the creation of the term socio-hydrology. Since decision making has a greater weight, considering the social perspective, its study has become more important in the past 20 years. This article aims to carry out a bibliometric analysis related to socio-hydrology using the Scopus database and the application of VOSviewer software for the evaluation of the intellectual structure of socio-hydrology, its conceptual evolution, and its tendencies. The methodology considers (i) search criteria of the research field, (ii) search and document selection, (iii) software and data extraction, and (iv) analysis of results and trends. The results show us the term socio-hydrology as a new scientific discipline that has traces in the Scopus database in the past two decades. However, its application stems from recognising ancestral knowledge alongside other forms of knowledge. Socio-hydrology practice requires participatory models, where the community has a great influence, and for the most part, it guarantees results for the common good. The trend of this topic is growing and open to the criteria of sustainability.

Ecuador has shown a growth in its scientific production since 2011, representing 85% of the total historical production. These investigations are reflected in scientific publications, which address world interest topics and serve as a link for the university, business, and society. This work aims to analyze the scientific production generated by Ecuador in the period of 1920–2020 using bibliometric methods to evaluate its intellectual structure and performance. The methodology applied in this study includes: (i) terms definition and search criteria; (ii) database selection, initial search, and document compilation; (iii) data extraction and software selection; and finally, (iv) analysis of results. The results show that scientific production has been consolidated in 30,205 documents, developed in 27 subject areas, in 13 languages under the contribution of 84 countries. This intellectual structure is in harmony with the global context when presenting research topics related to “Biology and regional climate change”, “Higher education and its various approaches”, “Technology and Computer Science”, “Medicine”, “Energy, food and water”, and ”Development and applications on the Web”. Topics framed in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), sustainability, climate change, and others. This study contributes to the academic community, considering current re-search issues and global concerns, the collaboration between universities and countries that allow establishing future collaboration links.

Worldwide, forest fires exert effects on natural ecosystems, contributing to economic/human losses, health effects, and climate change. Spectral indices are an essential tool for monitoring and analyzing forest fires. These indices make it possible to evaluate the affected areas and help mitigate possible future events and reduce damage. The case study addressed in this work corresponds to the Cerro of the Guadual community of La Carolina parish (Ibarra, Ecuador). This work aims to evaluate the degree of severity and the recovery of post-fire vegetation, employing the multitemporal analysis of spectral indices and correlating these with the climatological aspects of the region. The methodological process was based on (i) background information collection, (ii) remote sensing data, (iii) spectral index analysis, (iv) multivariate analysis, and (v) a forest fire action plan proposal. Landsat-8 OLI satellite images were used for multitemporal analysis (2014–2020). Using the dNDVI index, the fire’s severity was classified as unburned and very low severity in regard to the areas that did not regenerate post-fire, which represented 10,484.64 ha. In contrast, the areas classified as high and very high severity represented 5859.06 ha and 2966.98 ha, respectively. In addition, the dNBR was used to map the burned areas. The high enhanced regrowth zones represented an area of 8017.67 ha, whereas the moderate/high-severity to high-severity zones represented 3083.72 ha and 1233.49 ha, respectively. The areas with a high severity level corresponded to native forests, which are challenging to recover after fires. These fire severity models were validated with 31 in situ data from fire-starting points and they presented an accuracy of 99.1% in the high severity category. In addition, through the application of principal component analysis (PCA) with data from four meteorological stations in the region, a bimodal behavior was identified corresponding to the climatology of the area (dry season and rainy season), which is related to the presence of fires (in the dry season). It is essential to note that after the 2014 fire, locally, rainfall decreased and temperatures increased. Finally, the proposed action plan for forest fires made it possible to define a safe and effective evacuation route to reduce the number of victims during future events.

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Career success and its evaluation in university graduates generate growing interest in the academy when evaluating the university according to its mission and social mandate. Therefore, monitoring university graduates is essential in measuring career success in the State Technical University of Quevedo (UTEQ, acronym in Spanish). In this sense, this article aims to identify the predictive career success factors through survey application, development of two mathematical functions, and Weka’s classification learning algorithms application for objective career success levels determination in UTEQ university graduates. Researchers established a methodology that considers: (i) sample and data analysis, (ii) career success variables, (iii) variables selection, (iv) mathematical functions construction, and (v) classification models. The methodology shows the integration of the objective and subjective factors by approximating linear functions, which experts validated. Therefore, career success can classify university graduates into three levels: (1) not successful, (2) moderately successful, and (3) successful. Results showed that from 548 university graduates sample, 307 are men and 241 women. In addition, Pearson correlation coefficient between Objective Career Success (OCS) and Subjective Career Success (SCS) was 0.297, reason why construction models were separately using Weka’s classification learning algorithms, which allow OCS and SCS levels classification. Between these algorithms are the following: Logistic Model Tree (LMT), J48 pruned tree, Random Forest Tree (RF), and Random Tree (RT). LMT algorithm is the best suited to the predictive objective career success factors, because it presented 76.09% of instances correctly classified, which means 417 of the 548 UTEQ university graduates correctly classified according to OCS levels. In SCS model, RF algorithm shows the best results, with 94.59% of instances correctly classified (518 university graduates). Finally, 67.1% of UTEQ university graduates are considered successful, showing compliance with the university’s mission.

In the north of the province of the Santa Elena province (Ecuador), the important rivers in the area are seasonal, that is, the surface water is intermittent without supplying the population throughout the year. Consequently, the coastal aquifers are managed and exploited by the communes of the sector through the Water Boards. The "Regional Board of the Olón Drinking Water System" (JRAPO, acronym in Spanish), through 7 wells that pump 15 hours a day, supplies water suitable for human consumption to the communities of Olón, Curia, San José, La Núñez and La Entrada. However, when it is beach season, the demand for water increases and at the same time the flow in the wells decreases, generating problems in the water supply to the community members. The objective of this work is to analyze community water management through the social organization of the JRAPO, the technical measures in the water wells and the management of the river with its intermittences for the supply of water to the population. The work methodology includes i) processing of general and specific information on the Olón river-aquifer system, the organization of the JRAPO with its legal framework, ii) geographical territorial scheme of the situation of the Olón basin, iii) analysis of data from the aquifer such as: number of wells, pumping, demand, production and recharge, iv) the interpretation of data and management guidelines that obtain the current supply covering the demand. The results presented allow us to know the average flow of the wells that is around 20 lt/s and the production based on the pumping of said wells. The water from the wells complies with the requirements of the "Ecuadorian Technical Standard" (NTE) for human consumption in the sector. In conclusion, the analysis of the water management carried out by the community representatives through JRAPO is successful and considers several sections: good community organization, technical component that includes the evolution of the water levels of wells, measurement of the physical parameters. chemicals, well pumping regimes and environmental measures in pursuit of sustainability.

Georesources comprise spaces of relevant geological value with the potential to be used and managed as a resource. Therefore, georesources are an essential development factor in the world, mainly oriented to their rational use to improve the quality of life of the surrounding population. This work aims to analyze the main applications, conservation strategies and sustainable use of georesources in the rural area of Manglaralto (Ecuador) through their inventory, assessment and analysis for the adaptation of alternative uses to particular circumstances (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic). The method used consists of four phases: (i) inventory and mapping of georesources; (ii) description and assessment of georesources using international methodologies (e.g., GtRAM for georoute assessment, hydrogeological characterization using GeoModeller for groundwater assessment, GIS tools for assessing materials with industrial–artisanal interest, and KFM matrix method for the assessment of the level of construction difficulty of sanitary landfills); (iii) georesources complementary applications and (iv) SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) and TOWS matrix preparation (Threats, Opportunities, Weaknesses, Strengths), seeking strategies to guarantee the viability of the use of georesources. As a main result of the investigation, the geolocation of the georesources of the area was obtained. In addition, the assessment of the main georesources such as (i) potential geosites and sites of geological interest (e.g., beaches, cliffs, waterfalls, capes), (ii) groundwater (aquifers), and (iii) materials with artisanal and industrial interest (e.g., clays, sands). Finally, the study allowed us to define areas to develop landfill infrastructure, identify ecosystem services, and construct tsunami refuge site proposals. The case study addressed shows that the inventory and definition of the use of geological resources constitute a fundamental process for the economic, social, and environmental development of the population.

The north-central sector of the Santa Elena province has coastal aquifers that their communities have exploited due to water scarcity. The study area comprises the lower part of the Hondo River micro-watershed in the 'La Aguadita' commune. The sector's inhabitants do not have access to drinking water or sewage; the supply is given by cistern tanks and artisanal water wells, with livestock farming as the main economic activity. This work aims to characterize the lower part of the Hondo River micro-watershed by hydrological, lithological, and geophysical analysis to identify areas of groundwater exploitation and proposal for sustainable development. The methodology included: i) analysis of hydrogeological parameters, ii) lithological-geophysical survey, iii) correlation of lithological and geophysical results, and iv) determination of groundwater exploitation zones. The saturated groundwater layer is between 3 and 30 m deep, consisting of gravel and sand. This study demonstrated that the community-academic interaction and the correlation of innovative theoretical methods allowed the establishment of the proposal of sustainable guidelines contributing to the decision-making authorities in integrated water management. Additionally, using walls (albarradas) as part of the ancestral techniques of Water Sowing and Harvesting (WS&H) contributes to the recovery of groundwater quality. The walls are keys to the supply and development of the community. The water quality in the rainy season meets the quality standards for irrigation, while in the dry season, it requires pre-treatment. In the regional context there is limited hydrogeological and geophysical information to a better understanding of the availability and sectorization of groundwater. Methodological trends for future studies are the environmental impact analysis and the correlation of Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES's) with electrical and electromagnetic tomography.