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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Booneville, Arkansas » Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #372470
Research Project: Sustainable Small Farm and Organic Grass and Forage Production Systems for Livestock and Agroforestry

Location: Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center

Title: Hydrosedimentological modeling in a headwater basin in Southeast Brazil

Author
item MAURI, ELIETE - FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF LAVRAS
item VIOLA, MARCELO - FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF LAVRAS
item NORTON, LLOYD - PURDUE UNIVERSITY
item Owens, Phillip
item MELLO, CARLOS - FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF LAVRAS
item PINTO, LEANDRO - FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF LAVRAS
item CURI, NILTON - FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF LAVRAS

Submitted to: Revista Brasileira De Ciencia Do Solo
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/20/2020
Publication Date: 12/15/2020
Citation: Mauri, E.N., Viola, M.R., Norton, L.D., Owens, P.R., Mello, C.R., Pinto, L.C., Curi, N. 2020. Hydrosedimentological modeling in a headwater basin in Southeast Brazil . Revista Brasileira De Ciencia Do Solo. https://doi.org/10.36783/18069657rbcs20200047.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36783/18069657rbcs20200047

Interpretive Summary: Soil erosion is detritrmatnl for the landscape and the sediment can fill reservoirs and decrease the life of hydroelectric power plants. Erosion models can help understand the erosion process so that planners can target erosion mitigation plans. This research used the SWAT model with different soil types to evaluate erosion under different and mangement in Brazil. This model performed very in predicting erosion and erosion potential. These results are an important way to identify priority areas for soil and water conservation practices as well as provide useful information for water resource planning and management in the studied basin.

Technical Abstract: Hydrological modeling is a useful tool to predict the dynamic behavior of water in a basin and is one of the main tools in the management of water resources. We aimed to i) evaluate the ability of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to model continuous monthly streamflow and sediment load in the Mortes River Basin (MRB); ii) estimate the sediment yield spatially distributed by sub-basins; iii) evaluate the sediment load export to the Funil Hydroelectric Power Plant reservoir (FHPP), located in the MRB outlet, in Southeastern Brazil. The results demonstrated that SWAT performed satisfactorily in simulating both monthly sediment load and streamflow. For discharge calibration, 99% of the measured data were bracketed by the 95PPU, and for validation, 97% of the data were bracketed by the 95PPU, which indicates proper bracketing of the measured data within model prediction uncertainty. Uncertainty analysis in SUFI-2 indicated that 95PPU could capture about 78% of the sediment loads measured during the calibration and about 72% of the measured data during the validation period at MRB. The hydrologic response unit with pasture, and Argissolos (Ultisols), Neossolos Litólicos (Entisols), Cambissolos (Inceptisols) soils with undulated relief were the main areas with the higher sediment contributions. These results are an important way to identify priority areas for soil and water conservation practices as well as provide useful information for water resource planning and management in the studied basin.