Physico-chemical and biological conditions in surface waters of the Tapajós River and the conservation of the National Forest in the Amazon, Brazil

  • Sarah Suely Alves Batalha Universidade do Estado do Pará (UEPA)
  • Lucieta Guerreiro Martorano Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária
  • Adriele Giaretta Biase Universidade de São Paulo
  • Gundisalvo Piratoba Morales Universidade do Estado do Pará
  • Altem Nascimento Pontes Universidade do Estado do Pará
  • Leonardo Sousa dos Santos Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia
Keywords: conservation unit, water quality

Abstract

The Amazon Basin has a large amount of water that must be conserved to meet the needs of this and future generations. This study evaluated evidence of the effects of human disturbance in the Tapajos National Forest and its surroundings using physicochemical and biological variables in surface waters as indicators. In order to accomplish this, we first analyzed the data series of precipitation in the region. Samples were collected from the Tapajos River in areas influenced by land use and occupation. We made on-site assessments and collected samples for laboratory analysis. Rainfall in December 2012 was higher than the climatology indicated. The results of the Water Quality Index (WQI) indicated the predominance of the "good" to "great"; its values ranged between 70 < WQI < 90 and 90 < WQI ≤ 100, in 70.0 % of the samples collected. The balnearies Alter do Chão and Pindobal had the highest levels of fecal coliform, possibly due to anthropogenic effects that could be mitigated by adequate tourist practices. The highest WQI and greater transparency of the water near Tauari, showed minimal effects of human activities in nearby surface waters. It is concluded that water bodies are sensitive to changes in land use and those changes may threaten the maintenance of conservation areas.

Author Biographies

Sarah Suely Alves Batalha, Universidade do Estado do Pará (UEPA)
Discente do Programa de Pós-graduação Doutorado em Sociedade, Natureza e Desenvolvimento da Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará (UFOPA)
Lucieta Guerreiro Martorano, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária
Pesquisadora do Laboratório de Agrometeorologia da Embrapa Amazônia Oriental e Docente do Mestrado em Ciências Ambientais da Universidade do Estado do Pará (UEPA.
Adriele Giaretta Biase, Universidade de São Paulo
Discente do Programa de Pós-graduação doutorado em Estatística e Experimentação Agronômica da Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
Gundisalvo Piratoba Morales, Universidade do Estado do Pará
Docente do Programa de Pós-Graduação Mestrado em Ciências Ambientais da Universidade do Estado do Pará (UEPA)
Altem Nascimento Pontes, Universidade do Estado do Pará
Coordenador e Docente do Programa de Pós-Graduação Mestrado em Ciências Ambientais da Universidade do Estado do Pará (UEPA)
Leonardo Sousa dos Santos, Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia
Discente do curso de graduação em Engenharia Cartográfica e de Agrimensura da Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia (UFRA)
Published
16/10/2014
Issue
Vol. 9 No. 4 (2014)
Section
Papers

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