Influence of land use changes in the nitrogen cycle in aquatic systems: a catchment scale approach

• Grant number: 14/06556-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: October 01, 2014
• End date: September 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Jean Pierre Henry Balbaud Ometto
• Grantee: Felipe Siqueira Pacheco
• Host Institution: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brasil). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) is a key element for life on Earth, however major changes in N cycle have being caused by human activities. Due to domestic and industrial untreated effluents and excess used mainly in agriculture, large amounts of N are exported into rivers, lakes and ground water, which can cause changes in aquatic biota, changes in water quality and eutrophication. In Latin America, studies with an integrated approach involving the use of statistical and spatial analysis, as well as hydrologic modeling to examine the hydrologic effects of land use are nonexistent, which shows lack and necessity of projects and studies in this subject. The objective of this proposal is to document and understand the changes in aquatic systems dynamics in Paraíba do Sul and Alto São Francisco basins caused by changes in the N cycle, adopting an integrated approach related to: (i) the main sources nitrogen, mapping their origins and destinations in the watershed; (ii) the effect of large dams in the nitrogen cycle and; (iii) changes in ecosystem dynamic caused by excess nutrient loads caused by human activities. We will analyze georeferenced data to map and determine the main sources of N in the studied drainage basins in the present and past. Moreover, we will simulate the hydrology and water quality using meteorological, physiochemistry data, and land use to represent the current situation of the N cycle. Also, we will simulate future using scenarios of future land use to propose best strategies to ensure more sustainable development. This proposal has the support of the project "Nitrogen Cycling in Latin America: Drivers, Impacts and Vulnerabilities (Nnet)" linked to the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI). (AU)

Scientific publications

(7)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

PACHECO, FELIPE S.; MIRANDA, MARCELA; PEZZI, LUCIANO P.; ASSIREU, ARCILAN; MARINHO, MARCELO M.; MALAFAIA, MARCIO; REIS, ANDRE; SALES, MATIAS; CORREIA, GILSINEIA; DOMINGOS, PATRICIA; et al. Water quality longitudinal profile of the Paraiba do Sul River, Brazil during an extreme drought event. Limnology and Oceanography, v. 62, n. 1, p. S131-S146, NOV 2017. (14/06556-3)

MIRANDA, MARCELA; MARINHO, MARCELO MANZI; NOYMA, NATALIA; HUSZAR, VERA L. M.; VAN OOSTERHOUT, FRANK; LURLING, MIQUEL; OMETTO, JEAN P.; PACHECO, FELIPE S.. Phosphorus balance in a tropical shallow urban pond in Southeast Brazil: implications for eutrophication management. INLAND WATERS, JUL 2021. (14/50420-9, 14/06556-3)

MIRANDA, MARCELA; NOYMA, NATALIA; PACHECO, FELIPE S.; DE MAGALHAES, LEONARDO; PINTO, ERNANI; SANTOS, SUZAN; SOARES, MARIA FERNANDA A.; HUSZAR, VERA L.; LURLING, MIGUEL; MARINHO, MARCELO M.. The efficiency of combined coagulant and ballast to remove harmful cyanobacterial blooms in a tropical shallow system. HARMFUL ALGAE, v. 65, p. 27-39, MAY 2017. (14/06556-3, 14/50420-9)

BUSTAMANTE, MERCEDES M. C.; MARTINELLI, LUIZ ANTONIO; PEREZ, TIBISAY; RASSE, RAFAEL; OMETTO, JEAN PIERRE H. B.; PACHECO, FELIPE SIQUEIRA; MACHADO LINS, SILVIA RAFAELA; MARQUINA, SORENA. Nitrogen management challenges in major watersheds of South America. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS, v. 10, n. 6, JUN 2015. (14/06556-3)

PACHECO, FELIPE S.; MIRANDA, MARCELA; PEZZI, LUCIANO P.; ASSIREU, ARCILAN; MARINHO, MARCELO M.; MALAFAIA, MARCIO; REIS, ANDRE; SALES, MATIAS; CORREIA, GILSINEIA; DOMINGOS, PATRICIA; et al. Water quality longitudinal profile of the Paraiba do Sul River, Brazil during an extreme drought event. Limnology and Oceanography, v. 62, p. 16-pg., 2017-11-01. (14/06556-3)

GRACO-ROZA, CAIO; SOININEN, JANNE; CORREA, GILSINEIA; PACHECO, FELIPE S.; MIRANDA, MARCELA; DOMINGOS, PATRICIA; MARINHO, MARCELO M.. Functional rather than taxonomic diversity reveals changes in the phytoplankton community of a large dammed river. ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS, v. 121, FEB 2021. (14/06556-3)

PACHECO, F. S.; SOARES, M. C. S.; ASSIREU, A. T.; CURTARELLI, M. P.; ROLAND, F.; ABRIL, G.; STECH, J. L.; ALVALA, P. C.; OMETTO, J. P.. The effects of river inflow and retention time on the spatial heterogeneity of chlorophyll and water-air CO2 fluxes in a tropical hydropower reservoir. BIOGEOSCIENCES, v. 12, n. 1, p. 147-162, 2015. (14/06556-3, 10/06869-0)