Environmental land use conflicts in catchments: A major cause of amplified nitrate in river water

Pacheco, Fernando António Leal; Fernandes, Luís Filipe Sanches

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.155

Cited by 134 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…In addition, the intense exploitation of water resources in urban areas can generate water scarcity and even depletion [44][45][46]. At catchment scale, the inadequate managing of water sources and recharge areas can reduce water availability and increase the vulnerability of surface and groundwater to contamination [46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57]. It is therefore time for policy makers and water planners to start a robust assessment of groundwater recharge potential.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Groundwater Recharge Potential for Sustainable Water Use in Urban Areas of the Jequitiba River Basin, Brazil

et al. 2019

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The zoning of groundwater recharge potential would be attractive for water managers, but is lacking in many regions around the planet, including in the Jequitiba River basin, Minas Gerais, Brazil. In this study, a physically based spatially distributed method to evaluate groundwater recharge potential at catchment scale was developed and tested in the aforementioned Jequitiba River basin. The data for the test was compiled from institutional sources and implemented in a Geographic Information System. It comprised meteorological, hydrometric, relief, land use, and soil data. The average results resembled the annual recharge calculated by a hydrograph method, which worked as validation method. The spatial variation of recharge highlighted the predominant contribution of flat areas, porous aquifers, and forested regions to groundwater recharge. They also exposed the negative effect of urbanization. In combination, these factors elected the following sectors of the Jequitiba River basin as regions of high recharge potential: the south-southeast part of the headwaters in Prudente de Morais; Sete Lagoas towards the central part of the basin; and the region between Funilândia and Jequitiba, near the Jequitiba river mouth. Some management practices were suggested to improve groundwater recharge. The map of groundwater recharge potential produced in this study is valuable and is therefore proposed as tool for planners in the sustainable use of groundwater and protection of recharge areas.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Groundwater Recharge Potential for Sustainable Water Use in Urban Areas of the Jequitiba River Basin, Brazil

et al. 2019

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“…The summary of the total dataset used for the PCV plot is depicted in Table S2 in the Supplementary Material. The complete dataset from the Excel worksheet was prepared in the ArcMap [45] computer package, which is increasingly used in many hydrologic and environmental studies (e.g., [46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65]). The PCV plot is a graphical user interface tool (available in Excel using the XLSTAT statistical software) that analyzes the dissimilarities between grouped objects, resulting in a dendrogram, which shows the following data grouping within the suitable number of geological groups.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New Framework for the Management and Radiological Protection of Groundwater Resources: The Implementation of a Portuguese Action Plan for Radon in Drinking Water and Impacts on Human Health

Martins

Pereira

Oliveira

et al. 2019

Water

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In general, this study was developed to assess the radon contamination in groundwater intended for human consumption, to raise awareness among policy-makers to implement a legal framework for drinking water management and the radiological protection of groundwater resources. Thus, we analyzed with parallel coordinate visualization (PCV) plots what features may influence the water–rock interaction and promote high-radon concentrations in water intended for human consumption. The results show that in granitic areas composed by biotite granites (Group V), although there is a higher radon production in the rocks, the radon transfer to groundwater was not effective, mainly due to the physical and chemical properties of the water. The main conclusions show that in all springs sampled (n = 69) for the entire study area, there are only four springs that must have an immediate intervention, and 22 of them are above the limit imposed by the Portuguese legislation. These results are intended to promote a Portuguese Action Plan for Radon that can be framed in the guidelines on the management and protection of groundwater resources.

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“…Finally, the parts of a catchment with intermediate RN are proper for livestock pasturing or for a mosaic of natural pastures and forests. The procedure to calculate the RN has been detailed in various studies (Pacheco and Sanches Fernandes, 2016;Rocha and Kurtz, 2001;Valle Junior et al, 2013. According to that protocol, the boundaries of each RN class are set up in four consecutive steps: (a) a number of sub-basins is identified and delineated across the watershed in appreciation; (b) the mean Sl and D d of each sub-basin are estimated, from which the corresponding RN is obtained; (c) the RN amplitude (maxRN − minRN) is estimated, where maxRN is the highest and minRN the lowest RN, and then divided by a pre-defined number of land capability classes (n), for example the four classes used in this study (n = 4): 1-Agriculture, 2-Pastures for livestock production, 3-Pastures for livestock production/Forestry and 4-Forestry; (d) the sub-basins are assigned to the classes, based on their individual RN scores, from which a land capability map is prepared.…”

Section: Environmental Land Use Conflictsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is therefore defendable a sequence of events initiated with deviations of actual from natural soil uses, followed by development and densification of land use conflicts, terminated with intensification of erosion, desertification and environmental damage. It is worth noting that this environmental damage is not restricted to a potential disruption of soil services such as decline in crop productivity caused by loss of fertility, because conflicts and associated decreases in organic matter may activate a propagation of impacts involving the amplification of nutrient exports towards the water masses eventually succeeded by lake eutrophication and decline in aquatic biodiversity (Liu et al, 2011;Pacheco and Sanches Fernandes, 2016;Valle Junior et al, 2014b. It is also worth recalling that soil losses exceeding the tolerance limit under natural erosion conditions tend to occur primarily along steep hillsides or water divides (Valle Junior et al, 2010b).…”

Section: Human-related Soil Degradation and Potential Environmental Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

A legal framework with scientific basis for applying the ‘polluter pays principle’ to soil conservation in rural watersheds in Brazil

et al. 2017

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The "polluter pays principle" (PPP) has been looked at from the perspective of legal values and technical principles, namely of soil science, to evaluate the acceleration of soil erosion and the consequent development of degraded areas in the Uberaba River basin (area: 2419 km 2), state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Having accomplished this goal, the study highlights the importance of PPP for the conservation of soil and development of an ecologically equilibrated environment. The diagnosis of degraded areas was based on the coupling of a Geographic Information System with soil loss, land use conflict and tolerance to soil loss models, and revealed a preoccupying situation because an extension of approximately 905 km 2 (1/3 of the basin) has been considered in advanced state of degradation potentially causing environmental damage (e.g., decline of soil fertility and hence crop production, negative impacts of soil particles export on stream and lake water quality and biodiversity of riverine ecosystems). Facing this problem, a legal framework standing on doctrinaire principles, federal laws and the Brazilian Constitution has been proposed whereby the protagonists of soil degradation are called to assume responsibility as well as the costs of repairing this negative condition. Although the study has been carried out on a specific country under pre-defined settings, the rationale behind the proposals can easily be transposed to other scenarios because the scientific methods on which soil degradation has been defined and mapped are generally applicable, while the suggested legal values are currently applied to many regions on the planet.

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Environmental land use conflicts in catchments: A major cause of amplified nitrate in river water

Cited by 134 publications

References 70 publications

Groundwater Recharge Potential for Sustainable Water Use in Urban Areas of the Jequitiba River Basin, Brazil

Groundwater Recharge Potential for Sustainable Water Use in Urban Areas of the Jequitiba River Basin, Brazil

A New Framework for the Management and Radiological Protection of Groundwater Resources: The Implementation of a Portuguese Action Plan for Radon in Drinking Water and Impacts on Human Health

A legal framework with scientific basis for applying the ‘polluter pays principle’ to soil conservation in rural watersheds in Brazil

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