Effects of climate change and land use change on the water balance components of the Xingu river basin, southeastern Amazon

Author(s)

Rodnei Rizzo

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Piracicaba.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC)
• Defense date: 2018-10-05

Examining board members

Maria Victoria Ramos Ballester; Ricardo Guimarães Andrade; Maria Elisa de Paula Eduardo Garavello; Fabricio da Silva Terra

• Advisor: Maria Victoria Ramos Ballester

Abstract

In the southern of the Amazon basin, extensive deforestation associated with global climate change have impacted the regional water cycle. Predictions indicate that future alteration might cause even higher pressure over regional water resources. The goal of this study was to perform a detailed evaluation of past changes in the water resources of the upper Xingu basin, a region which is broadly representative of southern Amazon. The evaluation consisted of characterizing alterations in medium and long-term time series of rainfall, river discharge, evapotranspiration and total water storage change. The study employed not only in situ measurements, but also remotely sensed data. Remote sensing products including rainfall, evapotranspiration and water storage change were employed in the evaluation of the regional water balance. A thirteen years\' time series derived from RS products was submitted to a trend analysis, to detect significant variations in the water balance. Furthermore, uncertainties in each remote sensing product were retrieved, mostly comparing in situ measurements with RS estimates. To describe limitations of such products to evaluate the regional water balance, river discharge was calculated as the residual of the water balance. Later on, the estimated river discharge was compared to in situ measurements and uncertainties in the water balance were defined. The analysis of long-term alterations considered in situ measurements of rainfall and river discharge, from the period of 1976-2015. In this case, a group of hydro-climatological indicators was derived and then submitted to Mann-Kendall and Petit test. Due to the relevance of forest cover on river flow regulation, land use changes (LUC) were mapped every five years from 1985 to 2015. LUC results were then compared to the hydro-climatological data, to identify similarities in changing patterns. The evaluation of water balance components based on remote sensing products described fairly well the spatial variability in the study site. The uncertainties in P, ET and TWSC products corresponded to 41, 25 and 18 mm month-1, respectively. Due to these uncertainties, it was not possible to perform the water balance closure based on RS data. No significant changes were observed in the time series derived from these products. Contrastingly, the evaluation of a 40-years\' time series presented a decrease of 245 mm in rainfall, with intensity and number of rainy events being reduced. This phenomenon is most likely resultant from two process, the reduction in water recycling due to deforestation, as well as the Pacific Ocean decadal oscillation, which influences the large-scale atmospheric circulation. Although deforestation tends to increase river discharge, the reduction in rainfall in the Upper Xingu Basin was high enough to mask this effect. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/20377-1 - Development of soybean virtual water map for the Upper Xingu basin, Mato Grosso - Brazil
• Grantee: Rodnei Rizzo
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate