Water yield and sediment flows as a function of land use change scenarios

• Grant number: 24/08132-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2024
• End date: May 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences
• Agreement: MCTI/MC
• Principal Investigator: Édson Luis Bolfe
• Grantee: Letícia Lopes Martins
• Host Institution: Embrapa Agricultura Digital. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA). Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (Brasil). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/09319-9 - Center of Science for Development in Digital Agriculture - CCD-AD/SemeAr, AP.CCD

Abstract

The technological advances experienced in recent decades are also present in agricultural activities, and every day they are demonstrating their potential in the management of these activities, notably with a view to optimizing production systems and ensuring environmental sustainability. The way in which processes take place today and how modern crops are managed have come a long way from the way they were practiced a few years ago. The constant search for development, as well as the accelerated growth of human populations, puts considerable pressure on available natural resources. In this sense, changes in land use, mainly due to urban expansion and agriculture, have a significant impact on the water resources available in river basins. It is therefore essential to assess the impacts on water availability and sediment flow in river basins resulting from changes in land use. This study is justified in three representative river basins in the Agrotechnical Districts (DATs; acronym in Portuguese) that will make up the CPAD. The study will be conducted in three watersheds located in the DATs of Alto Alegre, Jacupiranga, and São Miguel Arcanjo in the state of São Paulo. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model, developed by the United States Department of Agriculture's Research Service (ARS-USDA) and widely used and applied around the world, will be used to simulate water and sediment yield (Arnold et al., 1998; Gassman et al., 2007; Bressiani et al., 2015). The SWAT model will be calibrated and validated for streamflow on a monthly time scale by evaluating the statistical indices KGE (Kling-Gupta efficiency coefficient), PBIAS (percent bias), and RMSE (root mean square error), as recommended by Moriasi et al. (2007) and Kouchi et al. (2017), using observed data from several rainfall and streamflow gauging stations. Among the expected results are the generation of new methodologies applied to hydrological modeling, scientific publications in indexed journals, and contributions to the management of water resources in these regions. (AU)