Abstract
Aim
Humid forest enclaves are areas with privileged rainfall patterns compared to the surrounding regions, which favours their use for human settlement and agricultural activities, actions that promote severe transformations of the landscape and can contribute to the degradation of local water resources. From this perspective, given the great importance of water reservoirs for this region and the high demand for water, this study aimed to analyse the conservation status of water quality in reservoirs subjected to different anthropic disturbance in a humid forest enclave in the State of Paraíba, Brazil.
Methods
Sampling campaigns were carried out for one year in six reservoirs: Mazagão I, Mazagão II, Vaca Brava, Saulo Maia, Rio do Canto and Lagoa do Paó, to measure the physic-chemical variables of the water.
Results
The influence of annual rainfall patterns on the capacity of these ecosystems to respond to anthropic pressures, indicating the effects of seasonality in the Lagoa do Paó reservoir. For the Vaca Brava, the low accumulated water volumes turned out to be more critical for changes in water quality than the use and occupation of the margins of this reservoir. Furthermore, the Mazagão I and II reservoirs showed low electrical conductivity. The Saulo Maia reservoir exhibit clear waters with low phosphorus content and can be used as a reference for a preserved environment for a highland humid forest enclave.
Conclusions
The conservation of the reservoir environment in the highland humid forest enclave is not sufficient to guarantee the water quality, as it is concentrated an affected at a certain time of the year. These aquatic ecosystems are under great pressure and the lack of decisions based on technical criteria makes them vulnerable to eutrophication.
Keywords:
human activities impacts; eutrophication; phosphorus content; reservoir management; land use and occupation
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