Effects of Restoration and Conservation of Riparian Vegetation on Sediment Retention in the Catchment Area of Corumbá IV Hydroelectric Power Plant, Brazil

Natália Pezzi Fachinelli and Amaro Olímpio Pereira ()
Additional contact information
Natália Pezzi Fachinelli: Energy Planning Program PPE/COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-914, Brazil
Amaro Olímpio Pereira: Energy Planning Program PPE/COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-914, Brazil

World, 2023, vol. 4, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: Vegetation cover and land use are important factors related to the capacity of ecosystems to provide soil loss regulation and sediment retention services, which are highly relevant for sediment management in watersheds draining into reservoirs with multiple water uses. One way to ensure the protection and recovery of vegetation by landowners in Brazil is the implementation of the federal Native Vegetation Protection Law (NVPL), which designates environmentally sensitive areas as Areas of Permanent Preservation (APPs), aiming to conserve water resources and prevent soil erosion. The benefits of riparian vegetation in the catchment of Corumbá IV Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP), located in the Brazilian Cerrado, were analyzed considering landscape reconfigurations from a baseline condition (year 2011) in order to account for the recovery of riparian vegetation by the agricultural sector, as foreseen in the NVPL. The Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR) model from the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs) package was used to map and quantify variations in sediment export and sediment retention throughout the catchment. The reduction in annual sediment export in the drainage basin of the Corumbá IV reservoir reached −27% in the scenario where the total deficit of riparian APPs occupied by pasture or agriculture in the baseline map (41.000 ha) are recovered. While 14% of riparian APP are occupied by crops versus 86% occupied by pasture in the drainage basin of the Corumbá IV HPP, the recovery of riparian zones occupied by agricultural activities resulted in the greatest benefits in sediment retention for the reservoir. The methodology employed in this study can support the prioritization of sectoral efforts for the restoration and conservation of native vegetation, considering the highest returns in benefits perceived by water users affected by sediment input in reservoirs. The study’s results reinforce the importance of conserving vegetation in riparian areas and their surroundings for sediment retention, highlighting the role of these areas as assets in providing water-related ecosystem services. For future developments, it is suggested to assess the interconnections among the energy, water, and food sectors to better understand the barriers and challenges to the maintenance and improvement of water-related ecosystem services in the catchment area of Corumbá IV HPP.

Keywords: water-related ecosystem services; sediment retention; riparian vegetation; Brazilian Native Vegetation Protection Law; water management; water–energy–food nexus (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G15 G17 G18 L21 L22 L25 L26 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 R51 R52 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/4/4/40/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/4/4/40/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jworld:v:4:y:2023:i:4:p:40-652:d:1247769

Access Statistics for this article

World is currently edited by Ms. Cassie Hu

More articles in World from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().