Assessing hydrological and provisioning ecosystem services in a case study in Western Central Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Current land use in the Federal District, Western Central Brazil, causes problems related to the water supply which are linked to the regulation of ecosystem services (ES). In scope of an Integrated Water Resources Management concept, we further developed the web-based planning support tool GISCAME for the Pipiripau river basin case study. Methods: We introduced analyses on ecosystem potentials in the raster-based tool to assess, in a spatially explicit manner, the scenario impact on water purification, sediment retention, water retention, and provision of food and fodder in order to identify potential pathways for conserving water resources. To demonstrate the method, we assess ES depending on a number of land use/land cover change (LULCC) scenarios. Results: We found that a considerable increase of water purification and sediment retention is difficult to achieve with realistic small scale LULCC, mainly because in areas with a low potential to provide hydrological ES and thus with a high demand for sustainable land use, such as native Savanna (Cerrado) and natural forests (Mata), favorable land uses were often already existing. We observed synergies in the response of regulating hydrological ES to LULCC but at the same time also trade-offs with provision of food and fodder. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that further degradation and loss of Cerrado and Mata must be avoided and their restoration should be promoted in order to safeguard water resources. We suggest that restoration measures should be focused on arable land located at steep slopes near surface waters to effectively increase hydrological ES through the marginal reduction of provision services.

Multilevel modeling of NPP change and impacts of water resources in the Lower Heihe River Basin

“…Many of the benefits that humans gain from ecosystems are directly or indirectly related to freshwater, which are referred to as water related ecosystem services (Koschke et al, 2014), but little attention has been paid to the potential loss of ecosystem services (ES) due to water stress (Qin et al, 2014). Water is usually the single most important limiting factor for the growth and productivity of plants (Inman-Bamber et al, 2012;Nielsen, 2003), and many areas worldwide have been facing increasingly severe water scarcity (De Fraiture et al, 2008;Zhang and Xia, 2009), especially the arid and semi-arid regions that are very sensitive to climate change and human activities (Rockström and Gordon, 2001;Saue and Kadaja, 2014;Wang et al, 2012).…”

Hydrologic Monitoring Plan of the Brazilian Water Producer/PCJ Project

“…Regarding hydrological services, LULC change is one of the most significant anthropogenic pressures which change water flows and modify regulating hydrological services [10] [27] [28]. In addition, slope, topography, soil development and soil depth are also terrestrial characteristics of the watersheds which impact hydrologic services, as reported by [29] [30], among others.…”

Assessing the Impact of Land-Use Changes on Providing Hydrological Ecosystem Functions (ESF) and Services (ESS) – A Case-Study Experience Based Conceptual Framework

“…Though many studies have been performed to describe and model the relations between LULCC and hydrological functions and services, understanding and predicting the impact of changes at different scales is still not suffi ciently solved to serve planning and management at the regional to local scale where most LULCC decisions are made (see e.g. Koschke et al 2014 ). A challenge consists in refi ning the scale where interrelations between hydrological functions and services and LULCC are modeled: the assessment of LULCC focuses mainly on land-cover classes and ignores the variability of land-use and management alternatives (Van Oudenhoven et al 2012 ;Verburg et al 2009 ;Dale and Polasky 2007 ).…”