Calidad de riberas y propuesta de rehabilitación del arroyo Gutiérrez (San Carlos de Bariloche)

Abstract

Globally, natural resources undergo degradation processes due to their intensive use and their unsustainable management. Particularly, rivers and streams are increasingly impacted by changes in land use mainly associated with urbanization in riverbank areas. The modification of aquatic and riverine ecosystems associated with urbanization processes has also been manifested in the city of San Carlos de Bariloche. It has had great population growth in recent decades, estimated at 40% between the censuses of 1991 and 2011. There are several urban and semi-urban streams immersed in the urban matrix that are altered due to anthropic activities. The Gutierrez stream, located west of the city, provides water for various domestic, energy, agricultural and recreational uses during the summer. This watercourse and its banks have great ecological and ecological conservation and conservation importance because they fulfill the function of biological corridor, providing connectivity between the Nahuel Huapi and Gutierrez lakes, and habitat for species of special value in the region. The stream has undergone various hydraulic modifications and activities associated with urban expansion over time that led to the alteration, fragmentation and loss of the aquatic and riparian ecosystem. The riverbanks have been deforested and in some cases the native vegetation was replaced by exotic species, reducing the biological wealth of the basin.