Forest Fires, Land Use Changes and Their Impact on Hydrological Balance in Temperate Forests of Central Mexico

Víctor H Ruíz-García,Alejandro I Monterroso-Rivas,Jesús D Gómez-Díaz,Ma Amparo Borja De La Rosa,Moisés Matías-Ramos,Carlos Asensio-Grima

doi:10.3390/w14030383

Víctor H Ruíz-García, Alejandro I Monterroso-Rivas + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/w14030383

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Abstract

Temperate forests play a fundamental role in the provision, regulation, and support of hydrological environmental services, but they are subject to constant changes in land use (clearing, overgrazing, deforestation, and forest fires) that upset the hydrological balance. Through scenarios simulated with the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) hydrological model, the present study analyzes the effects of forest fires and land use changes on the hydrological balance in the microwatersheds of central Mexico. The land use changes that took place between 1995 and 2021 were estimated, and projections based on the current scenario were made. Two trend scenarios were proposed for 2047: one with a positive trend (forest permanence) and the other with a negative trend (loss of cover from forest fires). The results show that with permanence or an increase in forest area, the surface runoff would decrease by 48.2%, increasing the base flow by 37% and the soil moisture by 2.3%. If forest is lost, surface runoff would increase up to 454%, and soil moisture would decrease by 27%. If the current forest decline trends continue, then there will be negative alterations in hydrological processes: a reduction in the interception of precipitation by the canopy and an increase in the velocity and flow of surface runoff, among others. The final result will be a lower amount of water being infiltrated into the soil and stored in the subsoil. The provision of hydrological environmental services depends on the maintenance of forest cover.

Highlights

Temperate forests provide and regulate environmental goods and services, which bring direct and indirect benefits to society to meet its needs and are essential for human wellbeing [1,2,3]
To determine the effects that these changes will have on the behavior of the hydrological environmental service balance
Between 1995 and 2008, the area of temperate forest decreased by 57.6 ha, but in the period of 2008–2021, 323.9 ha were lost, and the sum of the changes in both periods amounted to a decrease of 16.3% (Table 4), mainly because the surface of the lower temperate forest was affected by two forest fires that occurred in 2012 and 2017 [55,56]

Summary

Introduction

Temperate forests provide and regulate environmental goods and services, which bring direct and indirect benefits to society to meet its needs and are essential for human wellbeing [1,2,3]. Two of the most important ecosystem services that are provided by forests are provision and hydrological regulation. In basins with dominant forest cover, it is the forest that ensures the integral, continuous, and stable flow of the natural elements that intervene in the hydrological cycle [8]. This is because the forest is the layer of the Earth’s surface that is responsible for capturing and buffering rain, controlling surface runoff processes, promoting water infiltration, and influencing the recharge of aquifers to maintain stable levels, among other functions [9,10,11,12]

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