Impacts of land-use change on southeast Amazonia basin streamflow

Abstract

The Amazon region is the subject of growing interest in the international scientific community due to the environmental services provided by its dense forests in climate regulation and freshwater. Despite many efforts from environmental management agencies and research centers, this region can still be considered poorly monitored, especially given its large regional and global importance. Rainfall-runoff models are presented as a good alternative to the estimated flow rates in inaccessible or difficult to watch places. This study simulated stream flows for a representative part of the Amazon basin using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) redistributed hydrological model, adopting as reference the streamflow observed in Altamira gauge station. The authors emphasize that a database was specially prepared with physical parameters such as land use, topography and soil types, and weather data encompassing the years from 1985 to 2012, at a daily time step. The chosen approach allowed carrying out hydrologic simulations that were consistent with the flow values observed at the Altamira gauge station, providing better understanding of hydraulic-hydrological processes in the Xingu subbasin and information for planning and decision-making on the management of water resources in this important river basin.