Water fluxes in the Brazilian Cerrado and the maintenance of water storage

Abstract

The suppression of natural systems such as the Brazilian Cerrado is recognized as one of the most significant changes in the global environment in the last century. Therefore, the objectives of this work will be to assess the water balance variables based on forest hydrology, micrometeorology, water balance models, experimental field plots and hydrogeology in a native wooded Cerrado area and to estimate the potential recharge of the aquifer in the study area. The study will be developed over a year period in an outcrop zone of the Guarani Aquifer System, located in the municipality of Itirapina-SP. Hence, the water and energy flows above the surfaces (evaporation and transpiration) and under the canopy layer will be monitored. The other components of the water balance, such as precipitation, surface runoff, interception, percolation, soil water storage, and aquifer recharge rates will also be measured. The results will be presented and discussed to support the work developed in the study area. (AU)