Impacts of the landscape changes in the low streamflows of Pantanal headwaters—Brazil

Abstract

AbstractThe Upper Paraguay Basin Plateau (UPRB) concentrates the headwaters and the largest volume of rain that supply the Pantanal biome and is essential for maintaining its water regime. Given the region's changes in land use and cover, this research sought to identify their influence on headwater flows. The use of conceptual models and time series analysis showed that the replacement of natural vegetation with pasture and the more recent activity of irrigated agriculture have produced changes in the hydrological response of the headwaters. There was a decreasing tendency of low flows during dry periods, which was correlated with anthropic changes in the use and cover of the land in the region. The research results point out changes in land use and cover as the cause of a significant decrease in streamflows during drier periods. Such behaviour at the headwaters of the Pantanal can have consequences for this biome, reducing the resilience of the system against droughts and damaging the biodiversity of the biome.