Processing data for a spatial watershed model to evaluate hydrological responses of the Ribeirão das Posses, Brazil

Authors: CRUZ, PATRICIA - Embrapa; Green, Timothy; FIGUEIREDO, RICARDO - Embrapa; PEREIRA, ANDERSON - Embrapa; KIPKA, HOLM - Colorado State University; SAAD, SANDRA - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); DA SILVA, JONATHAN - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); GOMES, MARCO ANTONIO - Embrapa

Submitted to: Ambiente & Aqua, An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/12/2017
Publication Date: 5/23/2017
Citation: Cruz, P., Green, T.R., Figueiredo, R.O., Pereira, A.S., Kipka, H., Saad, S.I., Da Silva, J.M., Gomes, M.F. 2017. Processing data for a spatial watershed model to evaluate hydrological responses of the Ribeirão das Posses, Brazil. Ambiente & Aqua, An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Science. 12(3). doi:10.4136/ambi-agua.2073.

Interpretive Summary: Southeastern Brazil has experienced drought conditions that have impacted the conservation of watersheds and the management of water quality and quantity for agricultural and urban demands. The Ribeirão das Posses watershed is being monitored as a headwater of the Jaguarí River, which is one of the contributing rivers of the Cantareira Reservoir Complex in the state of São Paulo. The landscape has changed over the last century from native forests to more homogeneous vegetation for pastures, crops and some forest plantations of eucalyptus, which have cumulative impacts on water yield and quality. Currently, the Projeto Conservador das Águas (Water Conservationist Project) has planted small areas with vegetation of native species in order to recover degraded areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quantity of water in the Ribeirão das Posses using measured data and by simulating hydrological responses. The Agricultural Ecosystem Services (AgES) watershed model is applied to simulate water movement and storage among land areas. The simulation period was from 2009 to 2014, because the daily streamflow and meteorological data were available for model calibration and testing. We discuss the data input requirements, model calibration to fit measured streamflow, and sensitivity to different rainfall inputs. The calibrated model may be used estimate streamflow during periods of poor or missing data, and future work will focus on the impacts of land use changes in space and time on predicted stream water quantity and quality. Such information can help guide programs of payments for ecosystem services.

Technical Abstract: Southeastern Brazil has experienced drought conditions that have impacted the conservation of watersheds and the management of water quality and quantity for agricultural and urban demands. The Ribeirão das Posses watershed is being monitored as a headwater of the Jaguarí River, which is one of the contributing rivers of the Cantareira Reservoir Complex in the state of São Paulo. The landscape has changed over the last century from native forests to more homogeneous vegetation for pastures, crops and some forest plantations of eucalyptus, which have cumulative impacts on water yield and quality. Currently, the Projeto Conservador das Águas (Water Conservationist Project) has planted small areas with vegetation of native species in order to recover degraded areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quantity of water in the Ribeirão das Posses Basin using measured data and by simulating hydrological responses. The Agricultural Ecosystem Services (AgES) watershed model is applied to simulate water movement and storage among land areas. The simulation period was from 2009 to 2014, because the daily streamflow and meteorological data were available for model calibration and testing. We discussed the data input requirements, model calibration to fit measured streamflow, and sensitivity to spatially variable rainfall inputs. The calibrated model may be used to estimate streamflow during periods of poor or missing data, and future work may focus on the impacts of land use changes in space and time on predicted stream water quantity and quality. Such information can help guide programs of payments for ecosystem services.