NET PRECIPITATION AND RECHARGE OF GROUNDWATER IN RIACHO FUNDO WATERSHED, FELIXLÂNDIA-MG

• Main Authors: Ana Paula Vilela Carvalho, Herly Carlos Teixeira Dias, Kelly Cristina Tonello, Haroldo Nogueira de Paiva
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade de Investigações Florestais
• Series: Revista Árvore
• Subjects: Eucalipto; Poço Piezométrico; Precipitação Efetiva
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-67622016000600965&lng=en&tlng=en

ABSTRACT The amount of planted forests, especially those with exotic species, has increased along the last years in view of the need to supply the ever-growing demand of domestic and foreign markets for forest products. These crops are not only socially controversial but also polemic in what regards hydrological features of the local watershed. In that sense, we aimed to evaluate the net precipitation and water table level in the Riacho Fundo watershed, in Felixlândia municipality, Minas Gerais state, Southeastern Brazil, in a eucalyptus forest cover area located in the Cerrado of that state. Net precipitation was calculated by the sum of throughfall and stemflow. Water table level was monitored along four sites in the toposequence, where four piezometric wells were drilled. Net precipitation and water table level were evaluated from 2008 through 2010. Water table depth in the Riacho Fundo watershed varied with net precipitation and with the topographic position of the piezometric wells, which shows that groundwater in the eucalyptus forest area was recharged over the monitored years.