CADERNO DE CIÊNCIAS AGRÁRIAS

Agrarian Sciences Journal

Environmental diagnosis of water source in a Brazilian Cerrado watershed

Fernanda Laurinda Valadares Ferreira

*, Francielle de Cássia Coelho Vieira

, Izabelle de Paula Sousa

, Flávio

Pimenta de Figueiredo

, Leidivan Almeida Frazão

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35699/2447-6218.2020.20739

Abstract

A lack of planning characterize the most demographic occupation process in Brazil, occurring in a disorderly manner

and with inappropriate occupations, resulting in damage to natural resources. This process is recurrent in the Cerrado

Biome, currently the agricultural frontier of the country. Thus, the objective of this work was to identify anthropic

activities and classify the conservation status in the headsprings (water sources) and surroundings areas of a water-

shed inserted in the Cerrado biome, besides proposing measures to prevent and control the different degradation

processes. From February to July 2016, visits were made to 37 headsprings and their surroundings, located in the

watershed of Santa Fé de Minas River. Impacts of anthropic actions are identiﬁed directly or indirectly, classifying the

areas according to the state of conservation: preserved, anthropized and degraded. All visited places presented some

type of negative interference from human activities. The most frequent activities were unpaved roads, monoculture

of eucalyptus and cattle farming. According to the classiﬁcation, only 6% of the areas are on preserved condition,

while 70% are anthropized and 24% degraded. The main types of found degradation were erosions in different sta-

ges, compaction and silting. In addition, no conservationist practices are present in the areas. Therefore, to reduce or

prevent future degradation in the watershed, it proposed some mitigating actions, such as the isolation of headsprings

and their surroundings, adaptation of roads and eucalyptus plantation areas, and maintenance of preservation areas.

Key words: Anthropic activities. Degradation conditions. Mitigating actions.

Diagnóstico ambiental de nascentes em uma bacia hidrográﬁca do Cerrado brasileiro

Resumo

O processo de ocupação demográﬁca no Brasil em sua maioria é caracterizado pela falta de planejamento, ocorren-

do de forma desordenada e com ocupações inadequadas, resultando em danos aos recursos naturais. Este processo

é recorrente no Bioma Cerrado, atualmente a fronteira agrícola do país. Assim, objetivou-se com este trabalho,

identiﬁcar as atividades antrópicas e classiﬁcar o estado de conservação nas áreas de nascentes e entorno de uma

bacia hidrográﬁca inserida no bioma Cerrado, e propor medidas para prevenir e controlar os diferentes processos

de degradações. No período de fevereiro a julho de 2016, foram realizadas visitas em 37 nascentes e seus entornos,

localizadas na bacia do rio Santa Fé de Minas. Foram identiﬁcados impactos das ações antrópicas de forma direta ou

indireta, classiﬁcando as áreas de acordo com o estado de conservação: preservada, antropizada e degradada. Todos

os locais visitados possuíam algum tipo de interferência negativa proveniente de atividades antrópicas. As atividades

de maior recorrência foram estradas não pavimentadas, monocultivo de eucalipto e bovinocultura. De acordo com a

Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola. Viçosa, MG. Brasil.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3206-8467

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Agrárias. Montes Claros, MG. Brasil.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3656-1793

Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola. Viçosa, MG. Brasil.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5176-4612

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Agrárias. Montes Claros, MG. Brasil.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7147-7821

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Agrárias/ Montes Claros, MG. Brasil.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6848-9007

*Autora para correspondência: fernanda_laurinda@yahoo.com.br

Recebido para publicação em 19 de maio de 2020. Aceito para publicação em 13 de setembro 2020

Ferreira, F. L. V. et al.

Cad. Ciênc. Agrá., v. 12, p. 01–11, https://doi.org/10.35699/2447-6218.2020.20739

classiﬁcação, apenas 6% das áreas foram classiﬁcadas como preservadas, enquanto 70% estavam antropizadas e 24%

degradadas. Os principais tipos de degradações encontrados foram erosões em diferentes estágios, compactação e

assoreamento. Além disso, foi constatado que nenhuma prática conservacionista é adotada nas áreas. Portanto, para

reduzir ou evitar futuras degradações na bacia foram propostas medidas mitigadoras, como o isolamento das nas-

centes e seu entorno, adequação de estradas e áreas de plantio de eucalipto, e manutenção das áreas de preservação.

Palavras-chave: Atividades antrópicas. Condições de degradação. Ações mitigadoras.

Introduction

In the last decades, the demand for natural re-

sources has been increasing in a worrying way, due to the

demand being greater than the capacity to replace the

resources. Population growth, coupled with the growth of

industries and agriculture, provides socio-environmental

damage, when they occur without planning (Ferreira et

al., 2015; Mota et al., 2016; Silva et al., 2016).

Environmental or urban population growth

generally occurs in a disorderly manner and without

planning, reﬂecting in occupations of inadequate areas

(Ferreira et al., 2015). In the Brazilian territory, this

occupation process occurs sharply, associated with the

lack of management, destruction of riparian forests and

areas of permanent preservation (APP’s), resulting in the

deterioration of natural resources (Garcia et al., 2015;

Mendes et al., 2016).

According to Garcia et al. (2015), for the study of

watersheds, it is necessary to analyze APP’s. The natural

characteristics of Brazilian watersheds change due to

anthropic activities, especially in micro-watersheds (small

watershed), where streams show signs of deterioration

(Ferreira et al., 2015). Inappropriate use and occupation

of the areas on hillsides and river margins generally cause

environmental impacts of high magnitude in watersheds,

causing socio-environmental problems (Albuquerque et

al., 2017).

The knowledge linked to the preservation of

headsprings (water sources) in the watershed, is extre-

mely important for the maintenance of watercourses. The

headsprings concentrate on slopes, in the depressions of

land, or at the base level of the local watercourse (Ga-

latto et al., 2011). They are classiﬁed according to their

ﬂow as perennial (they manifest throughout the year,

but with ﬂow variations), temporary (manifest during

the rainy season, and disappear in the dry season) and

ephemeral (temporary, only when rain occurs) (Palivoda

and Povaluk, 2015).

According to CONAMA Resolution nº 303/2002,

the headsprings are natural water outcrops of groun-

dwater, which are preservation areas. The vegetation

protection in headsprings is extremely important, due

to their performance, as an obstacle for surface runoff,

favoring the inﬁltration of water in the soil proﬁle and

reducing the risks of erosion (Silva et al., 2018). The

Brazilian Forest Code - Law nº 12.651/12 (Brasil, 2012)

considers APP’s as “the areas around the headsprings

and perennial water eyes, whatever their topographic

situation, within a minimum radius of 50 (ﬁfty) meters”.

Thus, the headsprings and their surrounding vegetation

are protected due to their fragility and usefulness (Silva

Junior et al., 2015).

Occupation that occurs in a disorderly manner

and in areas of environmental protection such as the top

of hills, slopes and margins of water courses has beco-

me a problem, as it can cause the destruction of legal

reserve areas, APP’s, among others (Mota et al., 2016).

The disobedience of the legislation in the areas of APP’s

together with inadequate land use and coverage, poses

risks to the quality and quantity of water resources, since

it alters the river dynamics and the runoff (Garcia et al.,

2015; Moura et al., 2017).

For recovery and preservation of these places,

it is necessary to carry out an environmental diagnosis

(Mota et al., 2016), which consists of interpreting the

current situation in which the environment of a given

area is found, thus seeking to know its components (Sil-

va et al., 2018). According to Garcia et al. (2015), the

environmental diagnosis of land use and coverage with

the use of geotechnologies allows an integrated analysis

of the environment based on the obtained information.

The Cerrado biome is the second largest in Bra-

zil, occupying an area of approximately 24%, and it is

considered the richest savanna in the world (Aguiar et

al., 2016), with a high endemism index (Calaça et al.,

2018). Due to its extension, the Cerrado presents transi-

tion zones with almost all other national biomes, being

responsible for the formation of the main Brazilian rivers

(Aguiar et al., 2016). This biome has been considered,

since the 1970s, the main agricultural frontier area in

the country, being responsible for about 70% of national

food production (Silva et al., 2015a).

Changes in land use and coverage from the ad-

vancement of anthropic actions, with the suppression of

native vegetation areas, can cause changes in hydrological

regimes in river watersheds (Ferreira et al., 2020). The-

refore, the objective of this work was to identify anthro-

pic activities and classify the conservation status in the

areas of headsprings and their surroundings, located at

Environmental diagnosis of water source in a Brazilian Cerrado watershed

Cad. Ciênc. Agrá., v. 12, p. 01–11, https://doi.org/10.35699/2447-6218.2020.20739

a watershed inserted in the Cerrado Biome, and propose

actions to prevent and control the different degradation

processes.

Material e methods

The environmental diagnosis was carried out in

the watershed of the Santa Fé de Minas River, in Santa

Fé de Minas County, located in the Pirapora micro-region

and meso-region of Northern Minas Gerais. The water-

shed under study drains an area of approximately 1,470

km², which is a sub-watershed of the Paracatu river and,

according to the division of the watershed committees,

belongs to the watershed of São Francisco river (Figure

1), framing the SF7 committee - Paracatu (IGAM, 2006).

Figure 1 – Watershed of the Santa Fé de Minas River, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The predominant biome characteristic of the

region under study is the Cerrado. According to IBGE

(2010), the county Santa Fé de Minas has an area equi-

valent to 2,917.45 km², with an altitude of about 500 m,

a population of approximately 4,000 inhabitants, with

agriculture being the main economic activity.

According to the climatic classiﬁcation of Köppen

(Köppen, 1936), Aw is the predominant climate in the

watershed region, a tropical climate with dry winter, rainy

season in summer, between the months of November and

April, and dry season in winter, from May to October,

being July the driest month.

For collection and analysis of data related to the

headsprings environmental diagnosis, ﬁeld visits were

carried out between the months of February and July

2016, which consisted of identifying the impacts that

occurred on the analyzed area and the actions interaction

that impacted the place (site) directly and indirectly.

During expeditions through the watershed,

evaluations were carried out in 37 headsprings and in

their surroundings, which were georeferenced using

a GPS device (Global Positioning System) (Figure 1).

The identiﬁcation of the headsprings and the respective

coordinates are shown in Table 1.

In all the visited places (sites), annotations were

made about the conservation current state of the heads-

prings and their surrounding areas, in addition to photo-

graphic records for eventual consultations and proof of

the anthropic changes incidence. The headsprings were

classiﬁed as proposed by Pinto (2003), and adaptations

were made. The classiﬁcation took place as follows:

a) Preserved: headsprings with native vegetation

and without human intervention evidence;

b) Anthropized: native vegetation in the heads-

prings and their surroundings, with anthropic interven-

tion; and

c) Degraded: areas with little or no native ve-

getation, highly compacted soil or with erosion in an

advanced state, and silted watercourses.

Ferreira, F. L. V. et al.

Cad. Ciênc. Agrá., v. 12, p. 01–11, https://doi.org/10.35699/2447-6218.2020.20739

Table 1 – Identiﬁcation and location of the visited headsprings (water sources) in the watershed of Santa Fé de Minas

river, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Headspring Popular Names Geographic Coordinates

1 Córrego do Frade S 16°50’15,5” W 45° 34’31,1”

2 Cabeceira do Areal S 16°48’56,8” W 45°35’38,1”

3 Nascente da Lagartixa S 16°4’32,7” W 45°37’37,7”

4 Vereda Comprida S 16°50’12,1” W 45°43’5,9”

5 Nascente do Buraco S 16°47’29,2” W 45°35’41,5”

6 Nascente do Mandu S 16°47’44” W 45°37’54,9”

7 Nascente do Riachão S 16°50’17,2” W 45°40’41,7”

8 Nascente Ponte Pedra S 16°49’43,2” W 45°38’54,2”

9 Nascente Riachão das Pedra S 16°49’59,6” W 45°35’54,2”

10 Nascente Cabeceira 3 da Extrema S 16°51’21,1” W 45°44’30,9”

11 Nascente Bacia do Extrema S 16°51’7,1” W 45°44’38,9”

12 Vereda Grande S 16°49’46,7” W 45°45’19,8”

13 Cabeceira da Serrinha S 16°52’36,3” W 45°44’28,1”

14 Cabeceira da Vereda Grande S 16°50’39,5” W 45°45’52,7”

15 Cabeceira de Marotim S 16°52’54,1” W 45°43’33,3”

16 Cabeceira da Extrema S 16°53’1,8” W 45°43’20”

17 Galho da Passagem da Clauzi S 16°53’39,3” W 45°43’5,8”

18 Galho da Serrinha S 16°51’51,8” W 45°44’36,8”

19 Nascente do Córrego das Lages S 16° 42’ 50,7” W 45° 35’ 3,4’’

20 Nascente das Águas Vertentes Lavado S 16° 42’ 50,7” W 45° 35’ 3,4’’

21 Nascente da Fuga S 16° 42’ 51,2” W 45° 35’ 26,2’’

22 Vereda Brejo do Arroz S 16° 43’ 32,3” W 45° 36’ 53,2’’

23 Nascente do Cedro S 16° 42’ 27,7” W 45° 36’ 6,6’’

24 Nascente do Caju S 16° 43’ 32,3” W 45° 36’ 53,2’’

25 Nascente 1 da Vereda do Inferno S 16° 41’ 3,8” W 45° 44’ 7,2’’

26 Nascente 1 do Lavado S 16° 40’ 28,0” W 45° 41’ 38,2’’

27 Nascente 2 da vereda do inferno S 16° 41’ 35,2” W 45° 43’ 8’’

28 Nascente 2 do Lavado S 16° 40’ 16,7” W 45° 41’ 45,9’’

29 Nascente 3 do Lavado S 16° 40’ 48,1” W 45° 42’ 29,4’’

30 Nascente 4 do Lavado S 16° 40’ 54,4” W 45° 42’ 34,7’’

31 Nascente Cabeceira do São Gregório S 16° 40’ 54,4” W 45° 41’ 33,2’’

32 Nascente Meio do Lavado S 16° 40’ 13,4” W 45° 42’ 34,7’

33 Nascente Principal do Lavado S 16° 40’ 11,6” W 45° 43’ 50,4’’

34 Nascente Vereda do Inferno S 16° 41’ 15,1” W 45° 45’ 1,7’’

35 Nascente do Lavado S 16° 40’ 54,8” W 45° 43’ 42,6’’

36 Nascente Brejo vereda S 16° 39’ 42,7” W 45° 22’ 35,3’’

37 Nascente do Mucambo S 16° 39’ 33,4” W 45° 22’ 41,3’’