Documentary evidence for changing climatic and anthropogenic influences on the Bermejo Wetland in Mendoza, Argentina, during the 16th–20th century

M R Prieto,F Rojas

doi:10.5194/cp-8-951-2012

Abstract

Abstract. This paper examines the processes underlying changes to the once-extensive Bermejo Wetland, east of the city of Mendoza, Argentina (32°55' S, 68°51' W). Historical documents and maps from the 16th to 20th century are used to reconstruct environmental shifts. Historical documents indicate periods of increased snowfall in the adjacent Andes mountains, as well as high flow volumes in the Mendoza River. Data from georeferenced maps, the first from 1802 and the last from 1903, reflect the changes in the surface area of the wetland. The combined data sets show pulses of growth and retraction, in which major expansions coincided with more intense snowstorms and increased flow in the Mendoza River, which in turn influenced socio-economic activities. The wetland became progressively drier during the 19th century, before drying up completely around 1930, due in part to the construction of drainages and channels.

Highlights

Wetlands are areas of land whose soil is either permanently or seasonally saturated with moisture (Miller, 2002)
The Mendoza River for its part continues northwards and feeds another lacustrine complex named Guanacache. These two wetlands were part of a single complex formed by the surface water from the Mendoza River and groundwater flow from the cordillera into the lowland (Fig. 2)
Given that no permanent settlements established along the Mendoza River during colonial times, information on river streamflow variations and floods from the 17th to 19th century was indirectly estimated from the streamflow variations of the Rio de la Ciudad

Summary

Introduction

Wetlands are areas of land whose soil is either permanently or seasonally saturated with moisture (Miller, 2002). An important recent trend has been to investigate the fluctuation of wetlands in the context of climatic change and its influence on their volume and extension (Winter, 2000; Van der Valk, 2005). These investigations seek to establish the original (natural) state of these wetlands, how they have evolved over time and how they might respond to global warming. High water levels during the 18th and 19th century ruined the agriculture and the grazing fields Property damage from this flooding led to examination of the occurrence of past hydrological episodes and their relation to climate and land use

Study area: environmental characteristics

Methodology and sources

Overlay and georeference of historic maps

Background

Conclusions