CO2 AND O2 DYNAMICS IN IMPACTED WATERSHEDS IN THE STATE OF SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL

1 2 1 1 1
SALOMÃO, M.S.M.B. ; COLE, J.J. , SILVA, D.M.L. ; CAMARGO,P.B. & MARTINELLI, L.A.
1
Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura – USP. Av. Centenário 303 – Piracicaba – SP – Brazil telephone:
55 19 34294681 author mail: salomao@cena.usp.br
2
Institute of Ecosystems Studies. Millbrook – NY -USA

Rivers are affected by process that occurs in the whole watershed. Thus, land use changes
promote alterations in river’s physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. The anthropogenic inputs
not only affect the river metabolism but also the metabolism of adjacent ecosystems like estuaries and
coastal areas. In Brazil most studies in river metabolism are focused in Amazon Basin and in the Parana
Basin. In Amazon Basin the CO2 saturation is sustained by organic matter mineralization. Approximately
75% of carbon available for evasion to atmosphere is originated as organic matter that will be respired in
the water. In polluted sites of Piracicaba River the CO2 concentrations were regulated by in stream
decomposition of organic matter derived from sewage. These are examples of rivers where the increase
in pCO2 in rivers waters is strongly linked to biotic activity during which the allochthonous organic matter
imported by rivers will be partially metabolized, producing CO2 and consuming O2 affecting its fluxes into
or out of the river. Understanding the effects of land use on river chemistry is key to our ability to predict
these changes in water quality under different scenarios of land use, contributing for a sustainable
multiple use of this vital resource. The aim of this work is study aquatic metabolism in rivers and streams
trying to understand the relationship between land cover and the CO2 and O2 concentrations in the body
waters. We selected ten meso scale watersheds (Itapetininga, Apiaí-Guaçu, Taquari, Paranapanema, Peixe,
Aguapeí, São José dos Dourados, Turvo, Mogi-Guaçu and Piracicaba) in the State of São Paulo, Brazil.
These rivers were monthly sampled in fifteen sampling stations (during the period between October 2000 and
March 2002). In all watersheds there are remarkable land cover alterations, with a shift of the natural
vegetation for agricultural, forestry and urbanized areas. These selected watersheds encompass rivers with
different degree of anthropogenic impacts, such as urbanization, input of domestic and industrial effluents.
There is a strong association between pCO2 and O2 concentrations and a clear spatial trend among O2
concentrations and respiration rates in the studied rivers. In the majority of rivers, the dissolved oxygen
concentrations are under saturation (89%) and CO2 over saturation (100%). This indicates that respiration
dominates over photosynthetic activity in the rivers. These results are in agreement with studies in
temperate aquatic system where most lakes and rivers are CO2 oversaturated. In present study we found
a consistent association between urban land and CO2 and O2 concentrations. In Brazil, the sewage is
dumped directly in the rivers, most of time without treatment. The breakdown of the labile organic matter
derived from this source can explain part of spatial pattern of these gases in the rivers. In relation on
temporal variation, the clear relationship between O2 concentrations and river flow seems to be
associated with photosynthetic activity in the aquatic system. During low flow periods, the low water turbid
and speed, associated with a higher nutrients concentrations support an increase in the primary
productivity, raising O2 concentrations. On the other hand, pCO2 don’t exhibit a direct association with O2
concentrations and consequently with river flow. Four factors can alter this association: First, an increase
in respiration rates in pelagic region (since it was not noticed in water column) during the period of higher
CO2 concentrations; second, a rise in the contribution of groundwater to the rivers flow (water saturated in
CO2 by soil respiration and weathering); third an increase in the phytoplankton activity in the final part of
low flow period; fourth, the combination of factors hypothesized before. We do not found a correlation
between pCO2 and O2 concentrations in most of studied rivers. Only in the Piracicaba River the oxygen
saturation was negatively correlated with pCO2. The disconnection in temporal variation between pCO2
and O2 concentrations indicates that internal metabolism is not driving the CO2 concentrations in the
majority of studied rivers. Instead the main factor controlling temporal CO2 dynamics seems to be the
groundwater’s contribution. Concluding, we found a consistent relationship between urban land use and
O2 and CO2 concentrations, showing the influence of land use in water metabolism. However the
temporal variation in pCO2 were not directly linked with O2 concentration, which is an indicative of
groundwater control in temporal variation of CO2 in these rivers.

Financial Support
FAPESP (00/05583-4)