Colombian Páramo Delimitation Changes from 2007 to 2018

Three national delimitation processes for páramos in Colombia, from 2007 to 2018, comparing spatial extents across scales of 1:250,000, 1:100,000, and 1:25,000. The dataset, created by Alejandra Uribe-Albornoz, contains geospatial layers showing gain and loss areas between transitions. It was derived from official government open-data and last updated in May 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyzing changes in páramo ecosystem boundaries based on multi-year national delimitations.
• Comparing mapping precision and its impact on area calculations based on the described scale transitions (1:250k to 1:100k to 1:25k).
• Validating spatial analysis methodologies for environmental monitoring based on the described erase and symmetric difference tools.

Strengths

• Compares three distinct national delimitation efforts from 2007, 2012, and 2013-2018.
• Includes analysis at multiple mapping scales, with some areas delineated at a detailed 1:25,000 scale.
• Derived from official Colombian government open-data sources.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The description does not specify the total geographic area covered or the file formats available.

Provenance

Source

Colombian government open-data portal (www.datos.gov.co)

Collection Method

Official delimitation datasets were downloaded, processed with GIS tools (Erase, symmetric difference) to calculate gain/loss areas.

Time Range

2007 to 2018

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-15 22:27:17; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Colombia