Urbanization increases carbon concentration and pCO2 in subtropical streams

das Neves Lopes, Michelle; Decarli, Cleiton Juarez; Pinheiro-Silva, Lorena; Lima, Thiago Cesar; Leite, Nei Kavaguichi; Petrucio, Mauricio Mello

Urbanization increases carbon concentration and pCO2 in subtropical streams

2020

Urbanization growth may alter the hydrologic conditions and processes driving carbon concentrations in aquatic systems through local changes in land use. Here, we explore dissolved carbon concentrations (DIC and DOC) along urbanization gradient in Santa Catarina Island to evaluate potential increase of CO₂ in streams. Additionally, we assessed chemical, physical, and biotic variables to evaluate direct and indirect effects of urbanization in watersheds. We defined 3 specific urbanization levels: high (> 15% urbanized area), medium (15–5% urbanized area), and low (< 5% urbanized area) urbanization. The results showed that local changes due to growth of urban areas into watersheds altered the carbon concentrations in streams. DOC and DIC showed high concentrations in higher urbanization levels. The watersheds with an urban building area above 5% showed pCO₂ predominantly above the equilibrium with the atmosphere. These findings reveal that local modifications in land use may contribute to changes in global climate by altering the regional carbon balance in streams.

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