Effects of composition and seasonality of Atlantic rainforest riparian vegetation on soil water balance

• Grant number: 18/10105-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): January 01, 2019
• Effective date (End): March 05, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Silvio Frosini de Barros Ferraz
• Grantee: Bruna Santos Lopes
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 19/11612-3 - Effects of composition and seasonality of Atlantic Rainforest riparian vegetation on soil water balance, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

Extraction of native vegetation and inadequate soil use cause damage to the ecosystem, increase soil erosion, and cause silting of rivers. Based on this, interventions for forest restoration can conserve soils and provide ecosystem services. Although we know the beneficial effect of the arboreal vegetation around the water resources, little is known about the effect of the forest restoration on the water regime and the consumption of the trees considering different species and sizes. In this context, the main questions of this project are: (1) in the case of riparian vegetation located in an area with little water restriction, is it possible to have a negative water balance in this site during drought periods? (2) How does access to water in this region by trees modify estimates of evapotranspiration? (3) How different species behave and contribute to the riparian water balance? In this way, the objective of this project is to evaluate part of the hydrological cycle of a riparian native vegetation through the quantification of the different components of the system's inputs and outputs. For this purpose, five local native species were selected with five replicates each, from different successional stages, from which the variables of input and output of the system will be collected: precipitation, canopy precipitation, sap flow, transpiration and actual evapotranspiration measurement.