Assessment of ecosystem services of production and regulation of water depending on usage scenarios and soil management in a agricultural watershed

• Grant number: 13/08537-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2013
• End date: August 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Silvio Frosini de Barros Ferraz
• Grantee: Aline Aparecida Fransozi
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The use and land cover and their agricultural practices have a large influence on natural processes that occur in a watershed. The modeling of hydrological processes in the watershed allows better understanding the role of the use and land cover in providing ecosystem services, generating information that assist their management and serve as basis for payment programs for environmental services.Given the above, this study aims to analyze the hydrological dynamic of a stream considering different usage scenarios and agricultural management of soil in its catchment area. The study area comprises a watershed of Marins stream, located in Piracicaba-SP. The processes were modeled in a previous study using the hydrological model Gridded Surface Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis (GSSHA). Maps will be produced with tracks of restauration in Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) according the new forestry law; different percentages of the watershed occupied with eucalyptus forest to evaluate this influence of this soil cover; and scenarios considering the adoption of conservation practices. The water balance will be used to analyze the inputs and outputs of watershed, while the peak time, the direct runoff and maximum flows, medium and minimum will be analyzed and compared using simulated hydrographs.