LA SANGRE TRANSPORTA NUTRIENTES Y LOS RÍOS SEDIMENTOS, NO LE ESTAMOS PREGUNTANDO AL RÍO SI NOS PUEDE DONAR SUS SEDIMENTOS

This policy brief argues for the systematic monitoring of sediment transport in Andean-Amazonian river basins as a critical climate change adaptation measure. It details how different types of sediment (wash load, suspended bed load, and bed load) support ecosystem biodiversity and how anthropogenic infrastructure—such as hydroelectric dams and dredging—can disrupt these natural balances, leading to environmental degradation and increased operational costs.

• Amazonian rivers are the largest continental source of sediment on Earth, playing a vital role in maintaining ecosystem connectivity, providing nutrients to the Amazonian plain, and sustaining the Andean-Amazonian geoclimatic system.
• Sediment transport in major Amazonian rivers is massive; for example, the Amazon River (at Tamshiyacu + Bellavista) transports 541x10^6 tons per year, equivalent to 27 million dump trucks, while the Ucayali River (at Requena) transports 359x10^6 tons per year, equivalent to 18 million dump trucks.
• Sediments are classified into three types: 'wash load' (clays and silts < 62 μm) which carries nutrients and seeds; 'suspended bed load' (mainly sands > 62 μm) which interacts with the riverbed; and 'bed load' (mass movement of sediments on the bottom, such as dunes).
• Measurements conducted by CITA-UTEC between 2017 and 2019 in the Ucayali River and Puinahua canal showed that over 70% of the material was fine (wash load), 15% to 30% was coarse (suspended bed load), and only 1% to 3% was bed load.
• Infrastructure projects can severely disrupt sediment balance: water intake structures (bocatomas) cause imbalances in wash load; hydroelectric dams without bottom discharge structures cause sediment accumulation in reservoirs and downstream erosion; and dredging for waterways can alter riverbed morphology if not based on a complete baseline of fluvial dynamics.
• The Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant in Ecuador is associated with a hypothesis that its operation—specifically the intake dam and desander—contributed to the collapse of the San Rafael waterfall and subsequent regressive erosion, affecting endemic species, local populations, and roads.
• The Chaglla hydroelectric plant in Huánuco, Peru, lacks bottom discharge structures for sediment, leading to reservoir accumulation, loss of storage capacity, and imbalances in river morphology and biodiversity.
• The authors propose a comprehensive monitoring methodology divided into three units: the Hydrodynamic Unit (UHD) for water velocity and flow; the Hydrosedimentological Unit (UHS) for sediment concentration and granulometry; and the Hydrogeomorphological Unit (UHG) for riverbed characterization and dune statistics.

APA

Guerrero, L., Villena, D., Estrada, Y., & Barreto, D. (n.d.). LA SANGRE TRANSPORTA NUTRIENTES Y LOS RÍOS SEDIMENTOS, NO LE ESTAMOS PREGUNTANDO AL RÍO SI NOS PUEDE DONAR SUS SEDIMENTOS. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Monitoreo-de-sedimentos_policy-brief_vf.pdf

Chicago

Guerrero, Leo, Domenica Villena, Yulissa Estrada, and David Barreto. LA SANGRE TRANSPORTA NUTRIENTES Y LOS RÍOS SEDIMENTOS, NO LE ESTAMOS PREGUNTANDO AL RÍO SI NOS PUEDE DONAR SUS SEDIMENTOS. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, n.d. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Monitoreo-de-sedimentos_policy-brief_vf.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Guerrero |first1=Leo |last2=Villena |first2=Domenica |last3=Estrada |first3=Yulissa |last4=Barreto |first4=David |title=LA SANGRE TRANSPORTA NUTRIENTES Y LOS RÍOS SEDIMENTOS, NO LE ESTAMOS PREGUNTANDO AL RÍO SI NOS PUEDE DONAR SUS SEDIMENTOS |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Monitoreo-de-sedimentos_policy-brief_vf.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{guerrerondsangre, author = {Guerrero, Leo and Villena, Domenica and Estrada, Yulissa and Barreto, David}, title = {{LA SANGRE TRANSPORTA NUTRIENTES Y LOS RÍOS SEDIMENTOS, NO LE ESTAMOS PREGUNTANDO AL RÍO SI NOS PUEDE DONAR SUS SEDIMENTOS}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Monitoreo-de-sedimentos_policy-brief_vf.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }