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Journal of Environmental Hydrology
ISSN 1058-3912 |
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Electronic Journal of the International Association for
Environmental Hydrology
JEH Volume 18 (2010), Paper 20 Posted October 31, 2010 THE IMPACTS OF CHANGES IN LAND COVER ON WATER RESOURCES IN THE WESTERN AMAZON
Ranyére S. Nóbrega1 2Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Federal University of Campina Grande, Paraiba, Brazil ABSTRACT The semi-distributed hydrological model SLURP was applied in the Jamari River basin, Brazil, to investigate the impacts on hydrological processes caused by changes in surface land cover and land use, as well as climate change. Realistic and extreme scenarios of deforestation were analyzed. An increase was found of runoff when deforestation occurred. Since less water is intercepted by canopy, evapotranspiration and groundwater tend to decrease with deforestation. In climate change scenarios, increases in temperature and precipitation tend to increase evapotranspiration and runoff, while decreases in temperature and precipitation tend to increase evapotranspiration and decrease runoff and groundwater flow. During drought, runoff tends to increase remarkably. This suggests that if the annual rate of deforestation stays the same or increases, the socio-environmental problems may worsen during both dry and wet seasons. Reference: Nóbrega, R.S., E.P. Souza, and F.A.S. Sousa. 2010. The impacts of changes in land cover on water resources in the western Amazon. Journal of Environmental Hydrology, Vol. 18, Paper 20. CONTACT: Ranyére S. Nóbrega Department of Geographic Sciences Federal University of Pernambuco University City, Recife Pernambuco, Brazil E-mail: ranyere.nobrega@ufpe.br |
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