TITLE:
Attributes of Biothic Indicators as an Instrument for Assessing Ecosystem Integrity
AUTHORS:
Paula Catalina Pinilla-Cortés, Jaime Alberto Moreno-Gutiérrez
KEYWORDS:
Economic Valuation, Ecosystem Integrity, Forested Habitat, Human Well-Being
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.6 No.7,
July
5,
2019
ABSTRACT: The biotic indicators, or bioindicators, constitute a reference that con-tributes to the resolution of different issues associated with the state and evolution of the natural habitats where they are located. The information they provide can be interpreted mainly in terms of sensitivity, tolerance to different types of stress and the integrity of a forest ecosystem. The objective is (commentary 1) to present the characteristics of the bioin-dicators, which are capable of reflecting the ecosystemic integrity and provide valuation references in forest habitats. The attributes were re-ported thanks to the methodological strategy of bibliographic review through a theoretical sampling, taking into account 44 bibliographical sources that covered a time lapse between 1985 and 2016. As a result of the review, there were obtained a total of seventeen prevalent attributes in bioindicator species. Part of the discussions focus on recognizing that the study of bioindicators, and in general the principles associated with bioindication, provide potential criteria to resolve concerns beyond fully biological or ecological aspects and that are relevant in scenarios of environmental economic and/or ecological valuation. Finally, this review concludes that it has been possible to present a consensus of attributes and, at the same time, show some emerging attributes associated with biotic indicators that contribute to the analysis of the selection of bioin-dicator species in different studies.