Experiences in the use of limnological indices in Colombia

The main objective of this paper is to show some experiences of the department of biology of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in the development of limnological indices to assess the ecological status of aquatic systems in Colombia. Seven cases are presented ranging from the construction of a multimetric index for the urban wetlands of Bogota, to the development of a method for biomonitoring the water trophic status, based on microalgae encapsulated in alginate. The indices shown consider physical, chemical, and biotic variables in the limnological environments analyzed. Aquatic communities worked were phytoplankton, periphyton, aquatic plants, and aquatic invertebrates. the proposed indices (limnological conditions index of Bogota wetlands - LICOI; periphytic diatoms index of Bogota wetlands - PDIBW; biotic integrity index for macroinvertebrate of Cesar swamps BIIM; limnological state index for the Canal del Dique swamps -LSI; limnological river state index for upper basin of river Chicamocha - LRSI; habitat integrity index for licensed rivers - HII) permit to set ranges of quality and functionality of ecosystems studied. Encapsulated algae, meanwhile, reflected through their growth rates trophic status of water. Thus, technical and scientific methodologies are offered to the environmental authorities, so they can make decisions on the use, restoration and conservation of inland wetlands in the country.