Evaluating watershed health in Costa Rican national parks and protected areas
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(2020) 6:76
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Evaluating watershed health in Costa Rican national parks and protected areas T. J. Jovanelly1 · L. Rodríguez‑Montero2 · R. Sánchez‑Gutiérrez3 · L. Mena‑Rivera4 · D. Thomas1 Received: 6 May 2020 / Accepted: 13 July 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract Although the biodiversity of Costa Rican national parks, forests, and wetlands has been extensively surveyed, there has not been a watershed assessment that reflects their baseline water quality. Undoubtedly, the influx of 3.1 million visitors annually can lead to deterioration. Additionally, the country’s movement toward 100% carbon neutral energy means reliance on capturing water for the production of hydroelectricity. The missing hydrologic data set is of immediate concern, as watershed health predicts total ecosystem health. This field-based project measures eight parameters (pH, temperature, fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, nitrates, total phosphates, turbidity) needed to assign a watershed quality index (WQI) value at nine national parks or protected areas. Overall, the WQI for the systems surveyed reflect good water quality. Results compared with US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water standards indicate limited levels of contamination at most sites, with elevated signatures of nitrates, phosphates, turbidity, and/or fecal coliforms at few. The parks selected include coastal lowlands and central highlands; they also experience diverse tourist activities, degrees of use, and forest type that are challenges when managing land sustainably. Keywords Cost Rica · Hydroelectricity · National parks · Water quality index
Introduction Costa Rica (51,100 k m2) is an equatorial country that is located in Central America (Fig. 1). It is known best for its rich biodiversity and assorted natural landscape. The 500,000 species that are found in this small country represent 4% of the total species estimated worldwide (DeClerck et al. 2010; Kohlmann et al. 2010). The Cordillera de Talamanca mountain range (peak elevation 3820 masl) acts as a drainage divide for all river systems, whereby the eastern slope runoff enters the Caribbean Sea, while the western slope runoff enters into the Pacific Ocean. This extensive
* T. J. Jovanelly [email protected] 1
Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, USA
2
Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica
3
Water Resources Management Laboratory and Stable Isotope Research Group, Chemistry Department, Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica
4
Water Resources Management Laboratory, School of Chemistry, Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica
northwest–southeastern mountain belt significantly impacts area climate with the Caribbean flank receiving > 300 cm of annual precipitation and the Pacific flank receiving
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