ABSTRACT
Although there is a widespread belief that planting forests increases water yield and rainfall, science has demonstrated that, at the scale of a watershed, the proportion of annual rainfall that flows through the river or recharges groundwater reserves is inversely proportional to the tree biomass and that increasing forests does not increases rain in the same watershed. It follows, therefore, that open ecosystems such as grasslands and savannas are more efficient than forests in water yield and also that restoration through planting trees cannot increase the amount of water produced by a watershed, in spite of improving water quality and regulation of hydrological flows. Besides preserving natural ecosystems, adopting soil conservation and suitable cultivation practices that increase the infiltration of rain throughout the catchment area can have greater contribution than planting forests if the goal is to feed the river flow even in dry months, ensuring the ecosystem services depending on that water.
Keywords:
ecological restoration; ecosystem services; hydrology; land use; water yield
