Abstract
Mapping priority areas for environmental conservation and restoration is essential to informing policy formulation and decision-making. This study proposes a methodology based on multicriteria analysis and on-site assessment to develop environmental zoning that enhances the provision of water ecosystem services (WES) from Brazil’s Água Quente River Basin. Integrated analysis of multiple criteria enabled identification of degrees of susceptibility to degradation, assessment of effects of land-use changes between 1990 and 2020, and validation of the study’s methodology via field protocol. The results indicated that the spatial and temporal patterns of WES susceptibility to degradation varied little within the study area with the most critical levels occurring primarily in the Agua Quente’s floodplain, where there are sandy textured soils and coverage with a low degree of soil protection. Zoning analysis designates 40% of the basin`s area as consolidated use, 28% for environmental conservation, 19% as anthropic use, and 13% for environmental restoration. Field analysis indicates that the occurrence of degraded areas and pollution by solid waste and urban effluents are relevant factors that affect the basin’s water resources. Linear regression analysis indicated a good fit between the data modeled by the multicriteria analysis and those observed on-site (R² = 0.6 p < 0.05). The study’s method is effective and its structure can be used in other river basins, as its approach is simple and flexible and can be readily adjusted to fit the characteristics of the study site.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alanís-Anaya RM, Legorreta-Paulín G, Mas JF, Granados-Ramírez GR (2017) Susceptibility to gravitational processes due to land cover change in the Río Chiquito-Barranca del Muerto subbasin (Pico De Orizaba Volcano, México). J Mt Sci 14(12):2511–2526. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-016-4268-9
ANA (2012) Operative Manual of the Water Producer Program. National Water Agency (ANA), Brasília, Brazil. https://www.ana.gov.br/programas-e-projetos/programa-produtor-de-agua
Anjinho PS, Barbosa MAGA, Neves GL, Dos Santos AR, Mauad FF (2021a) Integrated empirical models to assess nutrient concentration in water resources: case study of a small basin in southeastern Brazil. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28(18):23349–23367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-12125-9
Anjinho PS, Barbosa MAGA, Costa CW, Mauad FF (2021b) Environmental fragility analysis in reservoir drainage basin land use planning: A Brazilian basin case study. Land Use Policy 100:104946. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104946
Ahn S, Sheng Z (2021) Assessment of water availability and scarcity based on hydrologic components in an irrigated agricultural watershed using SWAT. JAWRA J Am Water Resour Assoc 57(1):186–203. https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12888
Arnold JG, Moriasi DN, Gassman PW, Abbaspour KC (2012) SWAT: Model use, calibration, and validation. Trans ASABE 55(4):1491–1508
ASF (2021) Alaska Satellite Facility. Disponível em: https://vertex.daac.asf.alaska.edu. https://doi.org/10.5067/Z97HFCNKR6VA
Bacopoulos P, Tang Y, Wang D, Hagen SC (2017) Integrated hydrologic-hydrodynamic modeling of estuarine-riverine flooding: 2008 Tropical Storm Fay. J Hydrologic Eng 22(8):0401702. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0001539
Baio JAF (2009) Avaliação da contaminação nos principais corpos d’água do município de São Carlos/SP. Dissertação (Mestrado em Química Analítica). São Carlos: University of São Paulo, Brazil
Benayas JMR, Newton AC, Diaz A, Bullock JM (2009) Enhancement of biodiversity and ecosystem services by ecological restoration: a meta-analysis. Science 325(5944):1121–1124. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1172460
Bentos AB, Gallo ADS, Guimarães NDF, Souza MDBD, Stolf R, Borges MTMR (2017). Rapid Assessment of Habitat Diversity Along the Araras Stream, Brazil. Floresta e Ambiente 25. https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8087.002416
Boumans R, Roman J, Altman I, Kaufman L (2015) The Multiscale Integrated Model of Ecosystem Services (MIMES): Simulating the interactions of coupled human and natural systems. Ecosyst Serv 12:30–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.01.004
BRAZIL (2000) Lei Federal n° 9.985 de 18 de julho de 2000. Institui o Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação, Brasília, DF, Brazil. http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l9985.htm
BRAZIL (2012) Lei Federal n° 12.651 de 25 de maio de 2012. Institui o Código Florestal Brasileiro, Brasília, DF, Brazil
BRAZIL (2021) Lei Federal n° 14.119 de 13 de janeiro de 2021. Institui a Política Nacional de Pagamento por Serviços Ambientais, Brasília, DF, Brazil. http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2019-2022/2021/lei/L14119.htm
Brauman KA, Daily GC, Duarte TKE, Mooney HA (2007) The nature and value of ecosystem services: an overview highlighting hydrologic services. Annu Rev Environ Resour 32:67–98. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.energy.32.031306.102758
Caro-Borrero A, Carmona-Jiménez J, Rivera-Ramírez K, Bieber K (2021) The effects of urbanization on aquatic ecosystems in peri-urban protected areas of Mexico City: The contradictory discourse of conservation amid expansion of informal settlements. Land Use Policy 102:105226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105226
Chen S, Feng Y, Tong X, Liu S, Xie H, Gao C, Lei Z (2020) Modeling ESV losses caused by urban expansion using cellular automata and geographically weighted regression. Sci Total Environ 712:136509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136509
Cordeiro GG, De Macêdo Guedes N, Kisaka TB, Nardoto GB (2016) Rapid assessment of ecological integrity in urban streams of the Corumbá watershed in the Midwest of Brazil. Ambiente e Agua-An Interdisciplinary. J Appl Sci 11(3):702–710. https://doi.org/10.4136/ambi-agua.1857
Costa CW, Dupas FA, Pons NA (2012) Regulamentos de uso do solo e impactos ambientais: avaliação crítica do plano diretor participativo do município de São Carlos. Sp Geociências 31(2):143–157
Costa CW, Lorandi R, De Lollo JA, Imani M, Dupas FA (2018) Surface runoff and accelerated erosion in a peri-urban wellhead area in southeastern Brazil. Environ Earth Sci 77(5):1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7366-x
Costa CW, Lorandi R, Lollo JA, Santos VS (2019) Potential for aquifer contamination of anthropogenic activity in the recharge area of the Guarani Aquifer System, southeast of Brazil. Groundw Sustain Dev 8:10–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2018.08.007
De Mello K, Valente RA, Randhir TO, Dos Santos ACA, Vettorazzi CA (2018) Effects of land use and land cover on water quality of low-order streams in Southeastern Brazil: Watershed versus riparian zone. Catena 167:130–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2018.04.027
Dietz T (2017) Drivers of human stress on the environment in the twenty-first century. Annu Rev Environ Resour 42:189–213. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-110615-085440
Drobne S, Lisec A (2009) Multi-attribute decision analysis in GIS: weighted linear combination and ordered weighted averaging. Informatica 33(4)
Espíndola IB, Ribeiro WC (2020) Cidades e mudanças climáticas: desafios para os planos diretores municipais brasileiros. Cad Metrópole 22:365–396. https://doi.org/10.1590/2236-9996.2020-4802
Glavan M, Pintar M, Urbanc J (2015) Spatial variation of crop rotations and their impacts on provisioning ecosystem services on the river Drava alluvial plain. Sustain Water Qual Ecol 5:31–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.swaqe.2015.01.004
Gomes W, Dantas-Ferreira M (2012) Áreas Degradadas na microbacia do Córrego da Água Quente, São Carlos-SP. 9° SINAGEO - Simpósio Nacional de Geomorfologia
Grizzetti B, Lanzanova D, Liquete C, Reynaud A, Cardoso AC (2016) Assessing water ecosystem services for water resource management. Environ Sci Policy 61:194–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2016.04.008
Guidoum A, Nemouchi A, Hamlat A (2014) Modeling and mapping of water erosion in northeastern Algeria using a seasonal multicriteria approach. Arab J Geosci 7(10):3925–3943. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-013-1112-1
Hardoy JE, Mitlin D, Satterthwaite D (2013) Problemas ambientais em um mundo em urbanização: encontrando soluções em cidades da África, Ásia e América Latina. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315071732
Hasan MM, Wyseure G (2018) Impact of climate change on hydropower generation in Rio Jubones Basin, Ecuador. Water Sci. Eng. 11:157–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wse.2018.07.002
Hundecha Y, Bárdossy A (2004) Modeling of the effect of land use changes on the runoff generation of a river basin through parameter regionalization of a watershed model. J Hydrol 292:281–295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2004.01.002
IGC (2006) Instituto Geográfico e Cartográfico do estado de São Paulo. Mosaico de Cartas Topográficas na escala 1:10.000 elaboradas pelo IGC entre os anos de 1978 e 2006, integrando o Mapeamento Sistemático do Estado de São Paulo
Jin G, Wang P, Zhao T, Bai Y, Zhao C, Chen D (2015) Reviews on land use change induced effects on regional hydrological ecosystem services for integrated water resources management. Phys Chem Earth, Parts A/B/C 89:33–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2015.10.011
Liang X, Lettenmaier DP, Wood EF, Burges SJ (1994) A simple hydrologically based model of land surface water and energy fluxes for general circulation models. J Geophys Res: Atmos 99:14415–14428
Lima MCPB (2017) Processos urbanos em São Carlos, SP: duas bacias hidrográficas, dois momentos. XVII ENANPUR. São Paulo, Brazil
Lioni AB (2016) Ferramenta de avaliação integrada de corpos hídricos urbanos (FAIC-URB) - desenvolvimento e aplicação na sub-bacia do Córrego do Gregório, Município de São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
Lyu R, Clarke KC, Zhang J, Feng J JX, Li J (2019) The impact of urbanization and climate change on ecosystem services: A case study of the city belt along the Yellow River in Ningxia, China. Comput Environ Urban Syst 77:101351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2019.101351
Macedo DR, Hughes RM, Kaufmann PR, Callisto M (2018) Development and validation of an environmental fragility index (EFI) for the neotropical savannah biome. Sci Total Environ 635:1267–1279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.216
Mannigel AR, De Passos M, Moreti D, Da Rosa Medeiros L (2002) Fator erodibilidade e tolerância de perda dos solos do Estado de São Paulo. Acta Scientiarum Agron 24:1335–1340. https://doi.org/10.4025/actasciagron.v24i0.2374
MAPBIOMAS (2021) Brazilian Annual Land Use and Land Cover Mapping Project. http://mapbiomas.org/
MEA (2005) Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Synthesis. Island Press, Washington, DC
Mello K, Costa DR, Valente RA, Vettorazzi CA (2018) Multicriteria Evaluation for protected area definition aiming at water quality improvement. Floresta e Ambiente. https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8087.013416
Mwangi JK, Shisanya CA, Gathenya JM, Namirembe S, Moriasi DN (2015) A modeling approach to evaluate the impact of conservation practices on water and sediment yield in Sasumua Watershed, Kenya. J Soil Water Conserv 70:75–90. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.70.2.75
Moeinaddini M, Khorasani N, Danehkar A, Darvishsefat AA (2010) Siting MSW landfill using weighted linear combination and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) methodology in GIS environment (case study: Kara) Waste Manag 30(5):912–920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2010.01.015
Montgomery B, Dragićević S, Dujmović J, Schmidt M (2016) A GIS-based Logic Scoring of Preference method for evaluation of land capability and suitability for agriculture. Comput Electron Agric 124:340–353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2016.04.013
NRCS (1986) Urban Hydrology for Small Watersheds-Technical Release 55. US Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation: Washington, DC, USA
Pedro FG, Lorandi R (2004) Potencial natural de erosão na área periurbana de São Carlos-SP. Rev Brasileira de Cartografia 56(1):28–33
Periotto NA (2021) Diagnóstico, análise e proposta de revitalização da bacia hidrográfica do Córrego Água Quente, São Carlos (SP), Brasil. Relatório Parcial das Atividades de Pós-doutorado no Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Ambientais da UFSCar—Programa PNPD/CAPES
Pons NAD, Pejon AJ, Zuquette LV (2007) Use of geoprocessing in the study of land degradation in urban environments: the case of the city of São Carlos, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Environ Geol 53(4):727–739. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0685-y
Pope IC, Odhiambo BK (2014) Soil erosion and sediment fluxes analysis: a watershed study of the Ni Reservoir, Spotsylvania County, VA, USA. Environ Monit Assess 186:1719–1733. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3488-5
Resende FM, Cimon-Morin J, Poulin M, Meyer L, Loyola R (2019) Consequences of delaying actions for safeguarding ecosystem services in the Brazilian Cerrado. Biol Conserv 234:90–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.03.009
Riis T, Kelly-Quinn M, Aguiar FC, Manolaki P, Bruno D, Bejarano MD, Portela AP (2020) Global overview of ecosystem services provided by riparian vegetation. BioScience 6:501–514. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaa041
Rockström J, Steffen W, Noone K, Persson Å, Chapin FS, Lambin EF, Foley JA (2009) A safe operating space for humanity. Nature 461(7263):472–2009. https://doi.org/10.1038/461472a
Rodrigues ASL, Castro PTA (2008) Protocolos de avaliação rápida: instrumentos complementares no monitoramento dos recursos hídricos. Rev Brasileira de Recur Hídricos 13(1):161–170. https://doi.org/10.21168/rbrh.v13n1.p161-170
Rossi M (2017) Mapa pedológico do Estado de São Paulo: revisado e ampliado. São Paulo: Inst Florest 1:118
Saad SI, Mota Da Silva J, Silva MLN, Guimarães JLB, Sousa Junior WC, Figueiredo RDO, Rocha HRD (2018) Analyzing ecological restoration strategies for water and soil conservation. Plos one 13(2):e0192325. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192325
Saaty TL (1980) The analytic hierarchy process. McGraw-Hill, New York
Santos MJ (1993) Estudos limnológicos dos Córregos da Água Fria e da Água Quente. Dissertação (Mestrado em Engenharia). São Carlos: Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
Santos AR, Anjinho PS, Neves GL, Barbosa MAGA, De Assis LC, Mauad FF (2021) Dynamics of environmental conservation: Evaluating the past for a sustainable future. Int J Appl Earth Obs Geoinf 102:102452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2021.102452
SÃO CARLOS (2016). Lei Municipal n° 18.053 de 19 de dezembro de 2016. Institui o Plano Diretor do Município de São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
Sharp R, Douglass J, Wolny S et al. (2020) User’s Guide. The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, University of Minnesota, The Nature Conservancy, and World Wildlife Fund
Souza AR, Dupas FA, Da SILVA IA (2021) Spatial targeting approach for a payment for ecosystem services scheme in a peri-urban wellhead area in southeastern Brazil. Environ Chall 5:100206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2021.100206
Sun Ge HallemaD, Asbjornsen H (2017) Ecohydrological processes and ecosystem services in the Anthropocene: a review. Ecol Process 6(1):1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-017-0104-6
Sussams LW, Sheate WR, Eales RP (2015) Green infrastructure as a climate change adaptation policy intervention: Muddying the waters or clearing a path to a more secure future. J Environ Manag 147:184–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.09.003
Taffarello D, Calijuri MC, Viani RAG, Marengo JA, Mendiondo EM (2017) Hydrological services in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil: An ecosystem-based adaptation using ecohydrological monitoring. Clim Serv 8:1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2017.10.005
Tambosi LR, Vidal MM, Ferraz SFDB, Metzger JP (2015) Funções eco-hidrológicas das florestas nativas e o Código Florestal. Estudos avançados 29(84):151–162. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-40142015000200010
Trevisan DP, Moschini LE, Dias LCC, Gonçalves JC (2018) Avaliação da vulnerabilidade ambiental de São Carlos–SP. O EspaçO Geográfico em álise 44:272–288. https://doi.org/10.5380/raega.v44i0.50439
Trevisan DP, Moschini LE (2016) Determinação da fragilidade ambiental do município de São Carlos, São Paulo, Brasil. Geogr Ensino Pesqui 20(3):159–167. https://doi.org/10.5902/2236499421915
Valente RA, De Mello K, Metedieri JF, Américo C (2021) A multicriteria evaluation approach to set forest restoration priorities based on water ecosystem services. J Environ Manag 285:112049. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112049
Vettorazzi CA, Valente RA (2016) Priority areas for forest restoration aiming at the conservation of water resources. Ecol Eng 94:255–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.05.069
Vigerstol KL, Aukema JE (2011) A comparison of tools for modeling freshwater ecosystem services. J Environ Manag 92(10):2403–2409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2011.06.040
Villa F, Ceroni M, Bagstad K, Johnson G, Krivov S (2009) ARIES (Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services): a new tool for ecosystem services assessment, planning, and valuation. In 11th annual BIOECON conference on economic instruments to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
Zare M, Panagopoulos T, Loures L (2017) Simulating the impacts of future land use change on soil erosion in the Kasilian watershed, Iran. Land Use Policy 67:558–572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.06.028
Zhang Y, Xia J, Yu J, Randall M, Zhang Y, Zhao T, Shao Q (2018) Simulation and assessment of urbanization impacts on runoff metrics: insights from landuse changes. J Hydrol 560:247–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.03.031
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for granting scholarships to the authors, and the Center of Water Resources and Environmental Studies (CRHEA), University of São Paulo, for the structure offered. CCB was supported through an NSF EPSCoR Track 2 RII grant (EPS-2019528).
Author contributions
Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis and investigation, Writing—original draft preparation, Writing—review and editing [PSA]; Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis and investigation, Writing—original draft preparation, Writing—review and editing [LYRBT]; Writing - review and editing [Carolina Cerqueira Barbosa]; Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—review and editing [NAP]; Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - review and editing, Supervision [FYH]; Supervision [FFM].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
da Silva Anjinho, P., Takaku, L.Y.R.B., Barbosa, C.C. et al. Analysis of Susceptibility to Degradation of Water Ecosystem Services as a Tool for Land Use Planning: a Case Study in a Small Brazilian Watershed. Environmental Management 70, 990–1003 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01710-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01710-y