Relationships between Agriculture, Riparian Vegetation, and Surface Water Quality in Watersheds

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Agricultural land use and degradation of natural vegetation in riparian zones can impair water quality. This study was conducted in seven agricultural watersheds in Ibirubá, RS, Brazil, with the following objectives: identify relationships between concentrations of soluble phosphorus (P sol ) and nitrate (NO − 3 ) in surface water and agricultural use of soil and current vegetation in riparian zones, and assess the risk of eutrophication. Water samples from the main watercourses in each watershed were collected monthly from 10/2013 to 6/2014. Current land use was established by field surveys in the watersheds. The riparian zones of the watercourses were evaluated in terms of the condition of permanent preservation area (PPA) and access of the animals to the watercourses. The concentration of P sol and NO − 3 were correlated with land use indicators obtained from geoprocessing tools. Agricultural use of PPA increases the risk of surface water degradation, which increases through application of manure on crops and free access of livestock to PPAs and to these watercourses for drinking water. Surface water samples obtained showed water P sol concentrations that generate risk of eutrophication, whereas concentrations of NO − 3 were generally below critical levels.

Rainfall event‐based surface runoff and erosion in small watersheds under dairy and direct‐seeding grain production

“…Despite high economic importance, this land use comes with noteworthy implications for the environment in terms of water resources and water quality (Ruviaro et al, 2020). Conservation agriculture is of utmost importance (Andrade et al, 2012; Hollanda et al, 2015) with special regard to pollution (Becker et al, 2009; Broetto et al, 2017; Klippel, 2016; Sharma et al, 2018) for environmental planning and management (Bastos et al, 2021; Minella et al, 2007; Minella et al, 2022; Santos et al, 2016). Among the important factors in erosion prevention are no‐tillage and extended riparian vegetation, which increase soil infiltration and physically protect streams from (possibly polluted) runoff water.…”

Vascular epiphytism on the Sinos River riparian forest: phytosociological and conservation analysis

“…The degradation of riparian forests due to agricultural activities and population density lead to loss of environmental quality throughout the watershed (Broetto et al, 2017;Turunen et al, 2021). Both in preserved areas and in those that are most impacted, knowledge of vegetation can serve as diagnostic of environmental quality (Martins;.…”

Quantifying the contribution of riparian soils to the provision of ecosystem services

“…arable and grasslands) as these represent a major source of pollution (e.g. from fertilizers, livestock and pesticides) and because riparian zones associated with agriculture present pollution mitigation potential (Pierson et al, 2001;Rasmussen et al, 2011;Broetto et al, 2017). However, these studies tend to overlook the fact that riparian areas are inter-related systems and therefore changes (both natural and anthropogenic) occurring in headwater riparian zones across different habitat types could also affect riparian processes occurring downstream (Harper and Everard, 1998;Charron et al, 2008).…”