Sustainable water resource management requires understanding how hydrologic processes are impacted by environmental management and land-use decisions across multiple spatial and temporal scales. A key concept in this respect is hydrologic ecosystem services (HES), which are the water related ‘goods’ produced by the environment which are valuable to humans. This dissertation assesses a range of topics concerning HES in the Vouga basin (north-central Portugal), and their connection with land-cover and land-use practices. Specifically, the relationship between changes in forest and agricultural land-cover and management practices, and associated changes in HES were examined using a range of statistical and modeling approaches. To quantify the effects of different agricultural scenarios on both HES and potential stakeholders, the ‘Soil and Water Assessment Tool’ (SWAT) was utilized, in conjunction with economic assessment methods.
The first research section (Section 6) of the dissertation assesses the trends in streamflow quantity and yield in the Águeda watershed (a sub-basin of the Vouga) over a 75-yr period which coincided with large-scale afforestation of Pinus pinaster and (later) Eucalyptus globulus. Counter to the findings from meta-analysis studies of the effect of forest change on water availability, this study did not detect statistically significant trends in streamflow. By contrast, these findings support the view that there are prerequisite climatic, pedological, and eco-physiological watershed conditions that are necessary to observe hydrologic impacts at the watershed scale (which are not present in the Águeda watershed). By contrast, the significant changes which were detected are related to baseflow, which correspond with different periods of afforestation, and may be attributable to the promotion of soil water repellency under the mature pine and eucalypt stands.
In the second research section (Section 7), an assessment is carried out on the hydrologic and nitrate dynamics at the whole basin scale, using the SWAT model. This assessment indicated that there is a high degree of variability in nitrate export from the different parts of the basin, with the highest rates coming from the lower (agriculturally dominated portion) of the basin. The main flow pathways for nitrate export were found to be leaching from agricultural land-cover types, which consistently had the highest export for all land-use and pathways. These findings indicate that the water bodies at the highest risk of nitrate pollution in the Vouga basin are the groundwater aquifers.
The final research section (Section 8) utilizes the SWAT model to examine how reduced rates of fertilizer inputs would affect nitrate leaching, crop yields, and agricultural profitability in the lower Vouga basin. This research found that reduced rates of fertilization would reduce the amount of leached nitrate substantially, but that this would also lead to a large decrease in crop yield and profitability. A large difference in the inefficiency (i.e. crop production vs. nitrate export) between different HRUs was found, which could provide a focus for potential management action. This research strongly indicates that such actions may be needed to reduce the negative impacts of this pollution on the value of the groundwater aquifers, and to avoid associated costs which are otherwise passed on to local water users (e.g. through higher water treatment costs).
The overall findings of the dissertation highlight the importance of the upper (forested) basin as a drinking water supply area, given the prevalence of nitrate pollution in the lower basin. However, the historic afforestation in the Vouga basin has resulted in a reduction in baseflow, which is negative from a drinking water supply perspective. Therefore, while the forested uplands are beneficial from water quality standpoint (compared to intensive agriculture), they also have altered flow patterns in a manner which will reduce available supply. The findings from the upper basin contrast sharply with the lower basin, where there are potentially large negative HES impacts due to current agricultural practices. These practices will primarily impact groundwater aquifers, and therefore the water quality within the lower basin receive little benefit from the relatively high-quality water from the upper basin. This highlights the importance of considering the interconnectivity of HES across spatial scales, which will depend on the specific site characteristics of the river basin
