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Impacts of Anthropogenic Activities on Watersheds in a Changing Climate Ⅱ

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 12004

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Luís Filipe Sanches Fernandes

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Guest Editor

CITAB—Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environment and Biological Sciences, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Interests: flood-detention basins; rainwater harvesting for drought effects attenuation; hydrologic modeling at the catchment scale; water resources management; quality data; integrated monitoring of climate and environmental impacts; sustainability in agri-food and forestry ecosystems
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Dr. Fernando António Leal Pacheco

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DG-CQVR-UTAD – Department of Geology, Chemistry Research Centre, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Interests: groundwater management; groundwater contamination risk; water–rock interactions; groundwater flow modeling; groundwater–surface water interactions; land degradation and surface water quality; spatial decision support systems in public water supply planning; conjunctive use of water resources; water security
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In developed and developing countries, watersheds have been and are still subject to multiple anthropogenic pressures at progressively accelerated paces. Meanwhile, the climate has changed and continues to change. Steadily increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation in some regions are expressions of this change. The coupled influence of climate change and anthropogenic pressures, including land use changes, continues to produce a significant impact on watersheds, because both circumstances induce an amplification of hydrologic events, namely, floods, droughts, a decline in aquifer recharge, and the deterioration of water quality and ecosystems. The impact includes water erosion, a decline in soil fertility, a shortage of groundwater resources, and a disturbance of ecosystem functions, among others.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to give authors the opportunity to publish retrospective or prospective studies focused on the coupling of climate change and environmental impact assessments at the catchment scale. Studies on the direct influence of climate change on water resources are also welcome, as well as studies on the environmental impact of anthropogenic activities in multiple-use watersheds.

Prof. Luís Filipe Sanches Fernandes
Prof. Fernando António Leal Pacheco
Guest Editors

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Keywords

watershed
climate change
anthropogenic pressures
water resources
environmental impact
ecosystems
hydrologic extreme event

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 10815 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Artificial Water Withdrawal on the Terrestrial Water Cycle in the Yangtze River Basin

by Hejia Wang, Baodeng Hou, Mingxiang Yang, Weihua Xiao and Hao Wang

Water 2022, 14(19), 3117; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14193117 - 3 Oct 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1903

Abstract

Clarifying the response of the terrestrial water cycle to the influence of climate change and human activities and accurately grasping the variations in the water cycle and water resources under the changing environment are the scientific basis for achieving the sustainable development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. In this paper, a dataset of rasterized water consumption in the Yangtze River Basin was constructed, and an artificial water withdrawal module considering the process of water intake, water consumption and drainage was designed, which was coupled with the land surface model CLM4.5. Based on the multi-scale validation in the Yangtze River Basin, two numerical simulation experiments were carried out to reveal the impact of artificial water withdrawal on the water cycle process in the Yangtze River Basin. The results indicate that artificial water withdrawal leads to an 0.1–0.3 m increase in groundwater table depth in most areas of the basin, and agricultural irrigation leads to a 0–0.03 mm³/mm³ increase in soil moisture in most areas. Climate change dominates the variation of discharge in the Yangtze River basin and leads to an increase in discharge at most stations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Anthropogenic Activities on Watersheds in a Changing Climate Ⅱ)

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23 pages, 5408 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Role of Mine Tailings in the Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Phosphorus in River Water: The Case of B1 Dam Break in Brumadinho

by Teresa Cristina Tarlé Pissarra, Renata Cristina Araújo Costa, Renato Farias do Valle Junior, Maytê Maria Abreu Pires de Melo Silva, Adriana Monteiro da Costa, Luís Filipe Sanches Fernandes, Marília Carvalho de Melo, Carlos Alberto Valera and Fernando António Leal Pacheco

Water 2022, 14(10), 1572; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14101572 - 14 May 2022

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2534

Abstract

Human actions in the drainage network of hydrographic basins interfere with the functioning of ecosystems, causing negative impacts on the environment. Among these impacts, mass loads with a high concentration of phosphorus (P) have a significant potential for point and diffuse pollution of freshwater. The objective of this work was to model P spatially in the Paraopeba River basin, namely in the main water course and 67 sub-basins, and temporally in the years of 2019, 2020, and 2021, after the rupture of B1 tailings dam of Vale, SA company in Brumadinho (Minas Gerais Brazil). The distribution of total phosphorus concentrations (Pt) in relation to environmental attributes (terrain slope, soil class, and land use) and stream flow was assessed with the help of SWAT, the well-known Soil and Water Assessment Tool, coupled with box-plot and cluster analyses. The Pt were obtained from 33 sampling points monitored on a weekly basis. Mean values varied from 0.02 to 1.1 mg/L and maximum from 0.2 to 15.9 mg/L across the basin. The modeling results exposed an impact on the quality of Paraopeba River water in a stretch extending 8.8–155.3 km from the B1 dam, related with the rupture. In this sector, if the contribution from the rupture could be isolated from the other sources, the average Pt would be 0.1 mg/L. The highest Pt (15.9 mg/L) was directly proportional to the urban area of a sub-basin intersecting the limits of Betim town and Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region. In general, urban sprawl as well as forest-agriculture and forest-mining conversions showed a close relationship with increased Pt, as did sub-basins with a predominance of argisols and an accentuated slope (>20%). There were various moments presenting Pt above legal thresholds (e.g., >0.15 mg/L), mainly in the rainy season. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Anthropogenic Activities on Watersheds in a Changing Climate Ⅱ)

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22 pages, 5792 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Seasonal Differences in Water Pollution and Liver Histopathology of Iberian Barbel (Luciobarbus bocagei) and Douro Nase (Pseudochondrostoma duriense) in an Agricultural Watershed

by Regina Maria Bessa Santos, Sandra Mariza Veiga Monteiro, Rui Manuel Vitor Cortes, Fernando António Leal Pacheco and Luís Filipe Sanches Fernandes

Water 2022, 14(3), 444; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14030444 - 1 Feb 2022

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3134

Abstract

Histopathology has been used as a very useful tool to provide information on the severity of tissue damage, injuries, and organ functionality. Thus, this work aimed to assess whether seasonal variations (summer and winter) in water quality had consequences on the liver histology of Iberian barbel (Luciobarbus bocagei) and Douro nase (Pseudochondrostoma duriense). The research was carried out in the Vilariça River, a tributary of the Sabor River in Portugal, which is used as spawning grounds by these endemic cyprinids. The liver histopathological changes, assessed through a semi-quantitative system, allowed the identification of 13 histopathological changes located in the hepatic parenchyma, bile duct, and blood vessels. The histopathological changes with a higher prevalence in both species were vacuolization of hepatocytes, endothelial rupture, necrosis, fibrosis, and degenerative vacuolization. The results showed that the severity degree of liver histological alterations ranged between moderate and severe, and the major severity degree was observed in L. bocagei, in the summer season, and at the sampling points located in the downstream and middle stream. The canonical analysis indicated that the exposure of fish to metals may increase the potential risk of liver damage. Thus, in the summer, the high concentrations of Fe, Cu, Zn, As, and Mn justified the prevalence of the biliary duct epithelial detachment, in both species, and the hyperplasia of biliary epithelium, in L. bocagei. In the winter, the high TSS and Cd, Ni, and Cr concentrations justified the prevalence of congestion of blood vessels and degenerative vacuolization in both species. The higher hepatosomatic index of fish caught in the winter was due to the high presence of degenerative vacuolization and hepatocyte vacuolization. The severity of liver histopathological changes reflected differences in the type of contaminants in different seasons and sampling periods, and was thus proven as a valuable indicator of water quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Anthropogenic Activities on Watersheds in a Changing Climate Ⅱ)

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19 pages, 3413 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Is Climate or Direct Human Influence Responsible for Discharge Decrease in the Tunisian Merguellil Basin?

by Khaoula Khemiri, Sihem Jebari, Ronny Berndtsson and Khlifa Maalel

Water 2021, 13(19), 2748; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13192748 - 3 Oct 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2602

Abstract

Climate change and direct anthropogenic impact are recognized as two major factors affecting catchment runoff. This study investigated the separate effect of each of these factors for runoff from the important Tunisian Merguellil catchment. For this purpose, more than forty years of hydrological data were used. The methodology was based on hydrological characterization, NDVI index to monitor land use dynamics, and the Budyko approach to specify origin of change. The results show that hydrological change is much more important upstream than downstream. The last three decades display a 40% reduction in runoff. This is associated with the direct influence of humans, who are responsible for about 78% of the variation in flow. It appears that climate change contributes to less than about 22%. The combination of increased cultivated land and decreased annual rainfall is the main reason for reduced catchment runoff. Consequently, these effects threaten the sustainable runoff, water in reservoirs, and future water supply in general. Ultimately, the available runoff remains an important parameter and a key indicator to guide the choices of decision-makers and practitioners in current and future climatic conditions. This contributes to supporting sustainable management of remaining water resources. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Anthropogenic Activities on Watersheds in a Changing Climate Ⅱ)

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