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The influence of climate and dam construction on the Ibera wetlands, Argentina

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Abstract

The purpose of this work is to assess the impact on the Esteros del Ibera wetland ecosystem caused by the Yacyreta dam, a large hydroelectric power plant on the Parana River, Argentina, in comparison to other factors of environmental change. The project of the dam started around 1970. The power plant began operating in 1994. In 1989, the neighboring Ibera wetland ecosystem showed a substantial increase in the water level for which several different causes were conceivable, including climate change and the dam construction. We analyzed all existing hydrometeorological data and studied other changes that were observed in this ecosystem. A water balance model was used to analyze different scenarios. Increased groundwater inflow, generated since the construction of the dam, appears to be affecting the wetland more than any other factor. The study has implications for the assessment of global and regional consequences of building dams.

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Notes

  1. Newspaper El Libertador August 30, 2000, Corrientes, Argentina.

  2. Information published by EBY, Datos y descripcion del Emprendimiento Binacional. Relaciones Publicas, 10 pp; and EBY-ERIDAY, Yacyreta Project, Contract Y-C.1. Main Civil Works, 20 pp.

  3. Newspaper Clarin, May 12, 1989. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

  4. Newspaper El Litoral, October 13, 1999, Corrientes, Argentina.

  5. Newspapers El Litoral, October 13, 1999, Corrientes, Argentina; El Cronista Comercial, December 21, 2000, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

  6. Lotti and Associati, Societa di Ingegneria SpA (1999). Estudio Hidrogeologico Macroregional del Area Costanera del Rio Parana en el Tramo entre la Presa Yacyreta y el Arroyo Yabebiri. Report.

  7. Quoted in the report produced by Lotti and Associati in 1999.

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Acknowledgments

We thank SERNAH, EEA INTA Mercedes, CRL-INA, NOAA, Maria Josefa Fioriti, Daniel Cielak, Marcos Garcia Rams (San Juan Poriahu), and Luis Lenzi for allowing us access to hydrological and meteorological data. We are indebted to Instituto Correntino del Agua for permitting us to consult the many volumes of “Estudio del Macrosistema Ibera” and to Adolfo Fulquet for his willingness to share valuable information. Our appreciation to Juan Jose Neiff, Jose Angeleri, Delia Acevedo, Margarita Melo de Vaquer, Javier Corcuera, Marcelo Acerbi, Juan Rodrigo Walsh, and Ruben Patrouilleau for generating opportunities for fruitful discussion. We thank CONAE and NOAA for providing satellite images. Special thanks to Florencia Castets (Personal de Apoyo CIC) for her collaboration in digitalization and cartography, to Helena Vayo who helped us polish the text, and to Wolfgang Cramer, Tony Patt and the two reviewers who made very valuable suggestions. This study, part of an INCO DC project, was possible thanks to funding from the European Commission (Contract ERBIC18CT980262) and to the equipment provided through a special grant by UNCPBA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Multidisciplinary Institute on Ecosystems and Sustainable Development, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Campus Paraje Arroyo Seco, 7000, Tandil, Argentina

    Graciela A. Canziani, Rosana M. Ferrati & Diego Ruiz-Moreno

  2. Department of Chemical and Biosystem Sciences, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100, Siena, Italy

    Claudio Rossi

  3. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1048, USA

    Diego Ruiz-Moreno

Authors
  1. Graciela A. Canziani
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  2. Rosana M. Ferrati
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  3. Claudio Rossi
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  4. Diego Ruiz-Moreno
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Correspondence to Graciela A. Canziani.

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Canziani, G.A., Ferrati, R.M., Rossi, C. et al. The influence of climate and dam construction on the Ibera wetlands, Argentina. Reg Environ Change 6, 181–191 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-006-0018-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-006-0018-9

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