Ecuador, a country with distinct coastal (CO), highland (HL), and Amazon (AM) regions that are characterized by unique climatic, ecological, and socio-economic features is highly vulnerable to climate change. This study focuses on these three regions, highlighting their individual importance in the broader context of Ecuador's climate vulnerability. Utilizing dynamically downscaled data from the Regional Climate Model (RCM), we generated precipitation and air temperature projections for the period 2070–2099 under three different climate change scenarios. We indicate projected temperature increases across all three regions: mean temperature increases for the CO, HL and AM regions are of 1.35, 1.55, and 1.21°C, respectively. Each year, the largest temperature increases are predicted for the third quarter (June–August), with the smallest increases predicted for the last quarter (December–February). Precipitation patterns show varied changes, with CO exhibiting a positive mean daily change, in contrast to a mean negative change in the AM region. These region-specific projections underscore the differential impacts of climate change within Ecuador and highlight the necessity for tailored adaptation measures. The study's novel approach, focusing on distinct regional impacts within a single nation, offers valuable insights for policymakers, aiding in the development of effective, region-specific climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. This targeted approach is crucial to address unique challenges faced by different regions, thereby supporting national resilience strategies.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the main staple food of more than 50% of the world’s population. However, global production may need to increase by more than 70% before 2050 to meet global food requirements despite increasing challenges due to environmental degradation, a changing climate, and extreme weather events. Rice production in Ecuador, mainly concentrated in lowland tropical plains, declined in recent years. In this paper, we aim to calibrate and validate Kobayashi’s ‘Very Simple Model’ (VSM) and, using downscaled corrected climate data, to quantify the potential impact of climate change on rice yields for Ecuador’s two main rice-growing provinces. The negative impact is expected to be highest (up to −67%; 2946 tons) under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5, with a lower impact under RCP 2.6 (−36%; 1650 tons) yield reduction in the Guayas province. A positive impact on yield is predicted for Los Ríos Province (up to 9%; 161 tons) under RCP 8.5. These different impacts indicate the utility of fine-scale analyses using simple models to make predictions that are relevant to regional production scenarios. Our prediction of possible changes in rice productivity can help policymakers define a variety of requirements to meet the demands of a changing climate.

Hermetia illucens is an important species for waste management and the circular economy. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of Trichoderma reesei C2A and Pleurotus sp. as pretreatments of brewer spent grain (BSG). BSG was inoculated with fungal solution or distilled water (control). After seven days, this was used for H. illucens larvae cultivation. At the end of bioconversion process, parameters of substrate reduction and H. illucens larval development were evaluated. Chemical properties of BSG, frass and larvae were also analyzed. With T. reesei C2A pretreatment, highest substrate reduction (46.3 ± 0.9%) was achieved, but larval growth rate was lower (1.0 ± 0.1 mg/d) than that of control (2.8 ± 0.2 mg/d). Larvae of Pleurotus sp. pretreatment had limited development, reflected in their negative growth rate (−0.6 ± 0.2 mg/d). In conclusion, cultivation of H. illucens larvae (six day old) on BSG pretreated with Pleurotus sp. is not recommended. On the other hand, T. reesei C2A pretreatment enhance BSG reduction, and its potential use for lignocellulosic waste management should be more explored.

Horticultural and musaceous crops are of great economic importance in Ecuador. Although there are studies on the association of phytopathogenic nematodes and the damage they cause, little research has been done on the diversity and composition of nematodes in these crops. The present study evaluates the diversity, composition and abundance of the nematode community related to soil physicochemical characteristics, reports Shannon H' diversity and nematode community structure, based on their trophic groups, colonizer-persistent (c-p) community structure and maturity index (MI). This work presents results from soils in horticultural and banana plantations in the provinces of Azuay (highlands), El Oro and Guayas (coast), respectively. The results showed average organic matter (OM%), temperature (T°C) and humidity (H%) variables with significant differences (P<0.05) between sampling regions. No organisms of the mycophagous trophic group were found throughout the study. Genera such as Tylenchus, Helycotylenchus and Pratylenchus, represented more than 50% of the total of those collected. However, a notable difference was observed in the predatory trophic group, with a higher abundance in the coastal region than in the highlands. In general, the Costa and Sierra growing regions had a considerable impact on abundance and physicochemical variables. Climate had an important effect on the distribution and diversity of nematodes, including those of the predatory trophic group. The abundance of the herbivore trophic group could be mediated by the presence of the predator trophic group. Los cultivos hortícolas y de musáceas representan una gran importancia económica para el Ecuador. Aunque existen estudios sobre la asociación de nemátodos fitopatógenos y los perjuicios que causan, poco se ha investigado sobre la diversidad y composición de nemátodos en dichos cultivos. El presente estudio evalúa la diversidad, composición y abundancia de la comunidad de nemátodos relacionado con las características físico-químicas del suelo, reporta la diversidad de Shannon H’ y la estructura de la comunidad de nemátodos, a partir de sus grupos tróficos, estructura de la comunidad colonizadores – persistentes (c-p) e índice de madurez (IM). Este trabajo presenta resultados de suelos en plantaciones hortícolas y de banano en las provincias del Azuay (sierra), El Oro y Guayas (costa) respectivamente. Los resultados demostraron promedios en las variables materia orgánica (MO%), temperatura (T°C) y humedad (H%) con diferencias significativas (P<0.05) entre las regiones de muestreo. No se encontraron organismos del grupo trófico micofago en todo el estudio. Géneros como Tylenchus, Helycotylenchus y Pratylenchus, representaron más del 50% del total de las colectadas. Pero se pudo observar una notable diferencia del grupo trófico predador con una abundancia mayor en la región Costa que en la Sierra. En general, las regiones de cultivo Costa y Sierra tuvieron un impacto considerable en la abundancia y variables físico-químicas. El clima presento un efecto importante en la distribución y diversidad de nemátodos, entre ellos los del grupo trófico predador. La abundancia del grupo trófico herbívoro pudo verse mediada por la presencia del grupo trófico predador.

The University-Community integration process is an essential part in developing students skills, allowing them to apply methodologies and techniques learned during their academic training. This paper aims to showcase the use of GIS as a tool for applied learning process through the implementation of GIS at "Dios con Nosotros" farmers association, and the evaluation of disciplinary learning results by students. For data analysis, two components were stablished: the first one, the implementation of a GIS, which is composed of four phases; and the second component, which consisted of the evaluation of the disciplinary learning outcomes using rubrics. The results include mapping of farmers' fields, a socioeconomic analysis of the farmers and the students' development learning outcomes. This project allowed students to consolidate knowledge obtained in GIS in the classroom, and at the same time to integrate knowledge acquired throughout their academic curriculum.

The Andean–Amazonian transition zone in northeastern Peru is one of the most climatically diverse and complex regions in South America, yet knowledge of its ecoregions under climate change remains limited. This study assessed projected changes in mean annual temperature, accumulated annual precipitation, and incident solar radiation in the Amazonas department using an ensemble of five global climate models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) 2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios for the periods 2031–2060 and 2071–2100. Historical data from the NASA Earth Exchange Global Daily Downscaled Projections (NEX-GDDP-CMIP6) were used to analyze the spatial distribution of climate, climate anomalies, variability among ecoregions, and inter-model variability. The results show a generalized temperature increase across the department, with average anomalies between 1.20 and 3.96 °C, while precipitation increased between 3.93 and 16.59%, but with greater spatial heterogeneity and inter-model variability. Solar radiation showed moderate changes, with increases of up to 2.07 W m⁻² toward the end of the century. Ecoregions maintained their climatic differences, but the largest relative increase in precipitation was projected for montane grasslands and shrublands. Temperature showed the greatest agreement in the direction of projected change among models, while precipitation and solar radiation showed greater inter-model variability. These results provide spatially explicit climate information that can contribute to land-use planning, ecosystem conservation, and the design of regional climate change adaptation strategies in the Andean–Amazonian transition zone. These findings may also provide useful climate information for landscape restoration planning and for assessing future ecosystem responses to changing climatic conditions.