## 4 Discussion  
The evaluation of land use changes related to their ecosystem valuation (EV) in areas that are not easily accessible due to climatic and geographic conditions can be supported by remote sensing methods and geographic information systems. For example, some authors [6; 7] stated that the products generated through the detection of land use in conjunction with economic variables related to the benefits of environmental services can be the basis for developing methodologies that allow for understanding changes in the EV of natural resources [8]. The loss of ecosystem valuation (EV) of the study area from 2000 to 2020 was $5.50 \(\times\) 10\({}^{7}\). This compares with other findings in southeastern and southwestern Ecuador, where the loss of EV was $5.45 \(\times\) 10\({}^{7}\)and $ 5.40 \(\times\) 10\({}^{7}\)[51; 52], respectively in the same period.  
The values of decrease in EV are close to those obtained in the present study. This may be due to the similarities in the areas analyzed, similar economic activities and policies focused on the protection of natural areas [49]. In another research conducted in northern Ecuador, the decrease in EV from 2000 to 2020 was $1.40 \(\times\) 10\({}^{7}\)[53]. In comparison with the results of the (VE) obtained in the present work, the values are distant. The difference in these values may be associated with the variability of the environmental impacts produced on natural resources by economic activities and the capacity of environmental services (ES) of natural resources [54]. What has been stated by different authors regarding the variability of the EV of a natural environment from its land cover is aligned with the findings of this study, since it has been determined that Andean soils can be analyzed from an edaphic and economic approach by means of methods developed from satellite images and geographic information (GIS). These tools provide effective results, although it is important to mention that the accuracy of their results increases considerably when control points collected in the field are included. For the case study, we determined that the NDVI, DEM, VARI, GSOC, BSI, NDMI, control points obtained in the field were sufficient variables for the detection of paramo land uses and that their results allowed us to determine the land cover transitions, which were linked to the economic indexes adjusted for the study area. From the information provided by the methodology developed in the study, it was possible to recognize that factors such as colonization, population, and economic growth previously cited [1,2] are the main causes of soil changes. Paramo degradation can be attributed to practices with little or no conservation vision related to agriculture, cattle ranching, and reforestation, such as burning native vegetation to increase soil productivity levels [1]. The changes in the VE are stable throughout the period studied and related to land cover uses; the transitions are closely linked to the productive processes of the citizens [1]. This linkage contributes to understand that in the study area, both natural and social processes are related, so morolands should be understood from a socio-ecological approach [2]. The loss of the EV not only affects soil productivity but also causes alterations in carbon concentrations, loss of native vegetation and degradation of resource properties [1]. The conservation strategies of Andean soils led to changes in land use, which implies that certain social sectors renounce income from agricultural production, so understanding the relationship between the economic rent of anthropogenic uses and natural capital is very important [44]. The monetary values obtained in relation to agricultural land use in this study have proven to be a useful spatial indicator that provides basic information for calculating the costs associated with natural resource management; these costs reflect the heterogeneity of land use in the natural environment [44].