Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Nutrient baselines of Cerrado low-order streams: comparing natural and impacted sites in Central Brazil

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aquatic systems responsible for water supply in the Brazilian Federal District (FD) have been threatened by anthropogenic pressures, especially considering the expressive demographic increase in the region during the last decades. The purposes of this research were: (a) to assess the water quality in streams located in the FD by monitoring physical–chemical variables; (b) to define baselines for these variables among different ecological status categories. The 14 investigated streams were sampled between 2006 and 2009, in the dry (August–September, 2006, 2008, 2009) and rainy (March–April, 2008, 2009) seasons. All sampling sites were classified in four categories (“very impacted”, “impacted”, “in transition” and “natural”) using an adaptation of a rapid habitat assessment protocol. Differences in water quality among sites were generally well predicted in the four ecological status categories defined by the protocol, which showed a gradient in nutrient concentrations from reference sites classified as “natural” (medians: electrical conductivity = 7.3 μS cm−1; nitrate = 0.040 mg L−1; ammonium = 0.039 mg L−1; soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) = <0.001 mg L−1; total phosphorus (TP) = 0.006 mg L−1; ) to those classified as “very impacted” (medians: electrical conductivity = 87.7 μS cm−1; nitrate = 0.247 mg L−1; ammonium = 0.219 mg L−1; SRP = 0.010 mg L−1; TP = 0.035 mg L−1). Point sources inputs were the main factor for water quality deterioration. The nutrient baselines reported were relatively low when compared to data collected from reference areas in Brazil (e.g., São Paulo State) or temperate regions, especially for TP.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alencar, D. B. S., Silva, C. L., & Oliveira, C. A. S. (2006). Influência da precipitação no escoamento superficial de uma microbacia hidrográfica do Distrito Federal. Engenharia Agrícola, 26(1), 103–112 (in Portuguese).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alves, R. I. S., Cardoso, O. O., Tonani, K. A., Julião, F. C., Trevilato, T. M. B., & Segura-Muñoz, S. I. (2013). Water quality of the Ribeirão Preto Stream, a watercourse under anthropogenic influence in the southeast of Brazil. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 185, 1151–1161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • APHA. (2005). Standard Methods for the Examination of water and wastewater (21st ed.). Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • ANA. Water National Agency. (2012). Available at http://www.ana.gov.br. Accessed 19 Jan 2012 (in Portuguese).

  • Barbour, M.T., Gerritsen, J., Snyder, B.D., Stribling, J.B. (1999). Rapid bioassessment protocols for use in streams and wadeable rivers: periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish, 2nd ed. EPA 841-B-99-002. Washington, DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Office of Water.

  • Biggs, T. W., Dune, T., & Martinelli, L. A. (2004). Natural controls and human impacts on stream nutrient concentrations in a deforested region of the Brazilian Amazon basin. Biogeochemistry, 68, 227–257.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bispo, F. H. A., Silva, A. C., & Torrado, P. V. (2011). Highlands of the upper Jequitinhonha Valley. Brazil. I. Characterization and classification. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, 35, 1069–1080.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brasil (2005). Resolution no. 357, March 17th 2005. Brazilian Council for the Environment (CONAMA). www.mma.gov.br/port/conama/res/res05/res35705.pdf. Accessed 30 June 2013 (in Portuguese).

  • Bustamante, M. M. C., Nardoto, G. B., Pinto, A. S., Resende, J. C. F., Takahashi, F. S. C., & Vieira, L. C. G. (2012). Potential impacts of climate change on biogeochemical functioning of Cerrado ecosystems. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 72, 655–671.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • CAESB. Environmental Sanitation Company of the Federal District. (2011). http://www.caesb.df.gov.br. Accessed 15 Dec 2011 (in Portuguese).

  • Carmo, M. S., Boaventura, G. R., & Oliveira, E. C. (2005). Geoquímica das águas da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Descoberto, Brasília/DF – Brasil. Química Nova, 28(4), 565–574 (in Portuguese).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carneiro, P. J. R., Maldaner, V. I., Alves, P. F., Queirós, I. A., Mauriz, T. V., & Pacheco, R. F. (2007). Evolução do uso da água na bacia do rio Preto no Distrito Federal. Revista Espaço & Geografia, 10(2), 325–353 (in Portuguese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, S. R., Caraco, N. F., Correll, D. L., Howarth, R. W., Sharpley, A. N., & Smith, V. H. (1998). Nonpoint pollution of surface waters with phosphorus and nitrogen. Ecological Applications, 8(3), 559–568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carvalho, P. R. S. (2005). A expansão urbana na bacia do ribeirão Mestre D’Armas (DF) e a qualidade da água. Revista Estudos Geográficos, 3(1), 71–91 (in Portuguese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaves, H. M. L., & Santos, L. B. (2009). Ocupação do solo, fragmentação da paisagem e qualidade da água em uma pequena bacia hidrográfica. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental, 13, 922–930 (in Portuguese).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunha, D. G. F., Dodds, W. K., & Calijuri, M. C. (2011). Defining nutrient and biochemical oxygen demand baselines for tropical rivers and streams in São Paulo State (Brazil): a comparison between reference and impacted sites. Environmental Management, 48, 945–956.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodds, W. K. (2006). Eutrophication and trophic state in rivers and streams. Limnology and Oceanography, 51, 671–680.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dodds, W. K., Jones, J. R., & Welch, E. B. (1998). Suggested classification of stream trophic state: distributions of temperate stream types by chlorophyll, total nitrogen, and phosphorus. Water Research, 32, 1455–1462.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dodds, W. K., Bouska, W. W., Eitzmann, J. L., Pilger, T. J., Pitts, K. L., Riley, A. J., Schloesser, J. T., & Thornbrugh, D. J. (2009). Eutrophication of U.S. freshwaters: analysis of potential economic damages. Environmental Science and Technology, 43(1), 12–19.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dodds, W. K., & Oakes, R. M. (2004). A technique for establishing reference nutrient concentrations across watersheds affected by humans. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, 2, 333–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodds, W. K., & Oakes, R. M. (2008). Headwater influences on downstream water quality. Environmental Management, 41, 367–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodkins, I., Rippey, B., Harrington, T. J., Bradley, C., Chathain, B. N., Kelly-Quinn, M., McGarrigle, M., Hodge, S., & Trigg, D. (2005). Developing an optimal river typology for biological elements within the Water Framework Directive. Water Research, 39, 3479–3486.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gücker, B., Boëchat, I. G., & Giani, A. (2009). Impacts of agricultural land use on ecosystem structure and whole-stream metabolism of tropical Cerrado streams. Freshwater Biology, 54, 2069–2085.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins, C. P., Olson, J. R., & Hill, R. A. (2010). The reference condition: predicting benchmarks for ecological and water-quality assessments. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 29(1), 312–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilton, J., O’Hare, M., Bowes, M. J., & Jones, J. I. (2006). How green is my river? A new paradigm of eutrophication in rivers. The Science of the Total Environment, 365, 66–83.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • IBGE. Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. http://www.ibge.gov.br/home. Accessed 2 July 2012 (in Portuguese).

  • Lampert, W., & Sommer, U. (1997). Limnoecology: the ecology of lakes and streams. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lock, K., Asenovab, M., & Goethals, P. L. M. (2011). Benthic macroinvertebrates as indicators of the water quality in Bulgaria: a case-study in the Iskar river basin. Limnologica, 41, 334–338.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz, A. W., & Feld, C. K. (2013). Upstream river morphology and riparian land use overrule local restoration effects on ecological status assessment. Hydrobiologia, 704(1), 489–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martinelli, L. A., Coletta, L. D., Ravagnani, E. C., Camargo, P. B., Ometto, J. P. H. B., Filoso, S., & Victoria, R. L. (2010). Dissolved nitrogen in rivers: comparing pristine and impacted regions of Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 70(3), 709–722.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, R. P., II, Kline, K. M., & Churchill, J. B. (2013). Estimating reference nutrient criteria for Maryland ecoregions. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 185, 2123–2137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muniz, D. H. F., Moraes, A. S., Freire, I. S., Cruz, C. J. D., Lima, J. E. F. W., & Oliveira-Filho, E. C. (2011). Evaluation of water quality parameters for monitoring natural, urban, and agricultural areas in the Brazilian Cerrado. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia, 23(3), 307–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newall, P., & Tiller, D. (2002). Derivation of nutrient guidelines for streams in Victoria, Australia. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 74, 85–103.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Padovesi-Fonseca, C., Corrêa, A. C. G., Leite, G. F. M., Jovelli, J. C., Costa, L. S., & Pereira, S. T. (2010). Diagnóstico da sub-bacia do ribeirão Mestre D’Armas por meio de dois métodos de avaliação ambiental rápida, Distrito Federal, Brasil Central. Ambi-Água, 5(1), 43–56 (in Portuguese).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Padovesi-Fonseca, C., & Martins-Silva, M. J. (2012). Biologic integrity analysis as protection tool of Cerrado’s pristine areas. In C. Bilibio, O. Hensel, J.F. Selbach (Orgs.), Sustainable water management in tropics and subtropics and case studies in Brazil, v. 3 (pp 685–721). Jaguarão: UNIPAMPA/UNIKASSELL/PGCULT/UFMA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pardo, I., Gómez-Rodríguez, C., Wasson, J.-G., Owen, R., van de Bund, W., Kelly, M., Bennett, C., Birk, S., Buffagni, A., Erba, S., Mengin, N., Murray-Bligh, J., & Ofenböeck, G. (2012). The European reference condition concept: a scientific and technical approach to identify minimally-impacted river ecosystems. The Science of the Total Environment, 420, 33–42.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parron, L. M., Bustamante, M. M. C., & Markewitz, D. (2011). Fluxes of nitrogen and phosphorus in a gallery forest in the Cerrado of central Brazil. Biogeochemistry, 105, 89–104.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pretty, J. N., Mason, C. F., Nedwell, D. B., Hine, R. E., Leaf, S., & Dils, R. (2003). Environmental costs of freshwater eutrophication in England and Wales. Environmental Science and Technology, 37(2), 201–208.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reatto, A., & Martins, E. S. (2005). Classes de solo em relação aos controles da paisagem no bioma Cerrado. In A. Scariot, J.C. Sousa-Silva, J.M. Felfili (Orgs.), Cerrado: Ecologia, Biodiversidade e Conservação (pp 49–59). Brasília: Ministério do Meio Ambiente (in Portuguese).

    Google Scholar 

  • da Silva, F. A. M., Assad, E. D., & Evangelista, B. A. (2008). Caracterização climática do bioma Cerrado. In S. M. Sano, S. M. P. Almeida, & J. F. Ribeiro (Eds.), Cerrado: Ecologia e Flora (pp. 69–87). Brasília: Embrapa Informação Tecnológica (in Portuguese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Silva, J. S. O., Bustamante, M. M. C., Markewitz, D., Krusche, A. V., & Ferreira, L. G. (2011). Effects of land cover on chemical characteristics of streams in the Cerrado region of Brazil. Biogeochemistry, 105, 75–88.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Silva, G. B. S., & Steinke, V. A. (2009). Alterações na paisagem e seus impactos diretos nas áreas de preservação permanentes das nascentes da bacia hidrográfica do Ribeirão Taboca (DF): uma análise espaço-temporal1964-2004. Caminhos de Geografia, 10(32), 87–99 (in Portuguese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Silva, W. J., Felisberto, S. A., Padovesi-Fonseca, C., & Souza, M. G. M. (2010). Serial discontinuity along the Descoberto River Basin, Central Brazil. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia, 22(3), 344–355.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, R. A., Alexander, R. B., & Schwarz, G. E. (2003). Natural background concentrations of nutrients in streams and rivers of the conterminous United States. Environmental Science and Technology, 37, 2039–3047.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, S. M., Neill, C., Deegan, L. A., Krusche, A. V., Ballester, V. M., & Victoria, R. L. (2004). Influences of land use and stream size on particulate and dissolved materials in a small Amazonian stream network. Biogeochemistry, 68, 135–151.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vendrame, P. R. S., Brito, O. R., Guimarães, M. F., Martins, E. S., & Becquer, T. (2010). Fertility and acidity status of latossolos (oxisols) under pasture in the Brazilian Cerrado. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 82(4), 1085–1094.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wantzen, K.M. (2003). Cerrado streams—characteristics of a threatened freshwater ecosystem type on the Tertiary Shields of Central South America. Amazoniana, XVII(3/4), 481–502.

  • Zeilhofer, P., Lima, E. B. N. R., & Lima, G. A. R. (2006). Spatial patterns of water quality in the Cuiabá river basin, central Brazil. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 123, 41–62.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Fundo Nacional do Meio Ambiente (FNMA) (Process 02000.005571/2005-89). We thank the Catholic University of Brasília (UCB) for the scholarships granted to undergraduate students and for the chemical analyses (especially to the environmental engineers Rafael Morgado and Rodrigo Zolini); the Department of Ecology of the University of Brasília (UnB) for the transport during field work, especially the driver Mr. Mardônio Timo; the administration and staff of Águas Emendadas Ecological Station for their support within this conservation unit. We are also grateful to colleagues involved in field and laboratory work, specially the undergraduate students.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Curso de Biologia, Catholic University of Brasília–Universidade Católica de Brasília (UCB), Sala E-10, QS 07, Lote 01, EPCT, Taguatinga, Federal District, CEP 71966-700, Brazil

    Bárbara Medeiros Fonseca & Luciana de Mendonça-Galvão

  2. Departamento de Ecologia, Laboratório de Limnologia (Núcleo de Estudos Limnológicos–NEL), Instituto de Biologia, University of Brasília–Universidade de Brasília (UnB), Brasília, Federal District, Brazil

    Claudia Padovesi-Fonseca

  3. Campus Faculdade de Planaltina (FUP), University of Brasília–Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Federal District, Brazil

    Lucijane Monteiro de Abreu

  4. National Council of Technological and Scientific Development–Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brasília, Federal District, Brazil

    Adriana Cristina Marinho Fernandes

Authors
  1. Bárbara Medeiros Fonseca
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Luciana de Mendonça-Galvão
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Claudia Padovesi-Fonseca
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Lucijane Monteiro de Abreu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Adriana Cristina Marinho Fernandes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bárbara Medeiros Fonseca.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fonseca, B.M., de Mendonça-Galvão, L., Padovesi-Fonseca, C. et al. Nutrient baselines of Cerrado low-order streams: comparing natural and impacted sites in Central Brazil. Environ Monit Assess 186, 19–33 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3351-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3351-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation