Resumen: El corredor Ocuiltzapotlán-Macultepec constituye una zona con potencial para el crecimiento urbano, por su cercanía a la ciudad de Villahermosa Tabasco, esto ha provocado intensos cambios de uso de suelo en su área periurbana que afectan las funciones ambientales de sus recursos naturales. Por ello, el objetivo de la investigación fue analizar los cambios de uso de suelo, ocurridos entre los años 2000-2017, así como el impacto que causan a algunas funciones ambientales de las áreas periurbanas en dicho corredor. Mediante análisis de imágenes se identificaron los usos de suelos, se calcularon las tasas de cambios de uso y se determinaron sus efectos sobre el almacenamiento de carbono y regulación de los flujos hídricos. Los resultados indican que los usos urbano y pastizales crecieron en 2.27 y 2.26% respectivamente, mientras que los forestales y humedales decrecieron en 11.48 y 1.09% respectivamente. El almacenamiento de carbono edáfico se estima en 92.4±5.1, 73.2±2.8 y 220.4±4.6 Mg C ha-1 para los usos pastizal, forestal y humedales respectivamente. El compartimento aéreo del uso forestal almacena 63.27 Mg C ha-1, que se suman al carbono edáfico, alcanzando las 136.47 Mg C ha-1, que hacen de este uso de suelo, el segundo almacén de C más importante, solo después del humedal. Se concluye que el mayor impacto ambiental ocasionado por el cambio de uso de suelo del área periurbana del polígono estudiado es la reducción de humedales, por ser estos las principales áreas de almacenamiento de carbono y de regulación de los flujos hídricos. | Summary: As a result of its geographical location and its proximity to the city of Villahermosa in Tabasco, the Ocuilzapotlan-Macultepec road corridor is an area of great potential for urban growth. This has originated intense changes in land use in its peri-urban area that have affected the functions of its natural resources. For this reason, the objective of this research was to analyze land use changes that occurred during the period 2000-2017 and the impact on some environmental functions of the peri-urban areas of said corridor. By means of image analysis we identified land uses, land use change rates, and regulation of water flows. Our results suggest that urban areas and grasslands grew by 2.27 and 2.26%, respectively, while forests and wetlands decreased by 11.48 and 1.09%, respectively. Soil carbon concentrations are estimated to be 92.4 ± 5.1, 73.2 ± 2.8 and 220.4 ± 4.6 Mg C ha-1 for meadow, forest and wetland uses, respectively. The shoot compartment of the forest stores 63.27 Mg C ha-1, which, when added to soil carbon, totals 136.47 Mg C ha-1, making this land use the second most important carbon store, only after wetlands. It is concluded that the greatest environmental impact caused by land use change of the peri-urban area of the polygon studied is the reduction of wetlands since they are the main areas of carbon stores and are regulators of water flows.

The lowlands of the forests of Itajaí/SC, Brazil were extensively and predominantly fragmented into urban settlements, port facilities, and rice plantations. In addition to climate change events and existing environmental conditions, the region is susceptible to flooding. Consequently, this study aims to analyse the hydrologic functioning of the lowland forests in the infiltration of rainwater in Itajaí. A map of land use and occupation was created using the Geographic Information System – GIS, and crossed with the soil maps of the city. Two areas with the same soil classifications were selected; a pasturearea and a forest area. In August and October, these areas were sampled and classified according to the following criteria: grain size, moisture, permeability, and organic matter content of the soils. The infiltration rate of the soils in the sample units was tested using the double ring infiltrometer. Analysis ofvariance (ANOVA) was used to verify the correlation between the obtained values. The average values for the samples obtained in areas without vegetation were 3.45 cm h-1 and 3.60 cm h-1 in August and October, respectively. In the area with forest vegetation, the average values were 19.05 cm h-1 and 8.70 cm h-1 for the samples obtained in August and October, respectively. Although the soil conditions were the same, this study found significant differences in the water infiltration rates in the soil surface between the forest areas and the areas without vegetation. The forest vegetation denotes its potential role in the infiltration of rainwater in the floodplain of area. | Los bosques de Itajaí/SC, Brazil han sido intensamente fragmentados en la llanura, reflejando en el predominio de asentamientos urbanos, estructuras portuarias y cultivos de arroz. Al sumarse los eventos provenientes del cambio climático a las condiciones ambientales existentes, la región se torna susceptible a las inundaciones. De esta forma, este trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar la función hídrica de los bosques de llanura en la infiltración del agua de las lluvias en Itajaí. Se utilizó el Sistema de Información Geográfica para la elaboración de un mapa de uso y ocupación del suelo y se comparó con el mapa de suelos del municipio. De estos análisis fueron seleccionadas dos áreas en la llanura en la misma clase de suelos, una con pastoreo y una cubierta por bosque. En los meses de agosto y octubre, estas áreas se muestrearon y clasificaron acorde a los siguientes criterios: granulometría, humedad, conductividad hidráulica y contenido de materia orgánica de los suelos. También en estas unidades de muestra se realizó el ensayo de velocidad de infiltración básica (VIB) mediante el método de anillos concéntricos. Se utilizó el análisis de varianza (ANOVA) para verificar el efecto entre las variables obtenidas. Los valores medios obtenidos de VIB para área de pastoreo fueron 3,45 cm h-1 y 3,60 cm h-1 para los meses de agosto y octubre, respectivamente. En el área con vegetación se obtuvieron valores medios de 19,05 cm h-1 y 8,70 cm h-1 para los meses de agosto y octubre, respectivamente. En este trabajo fue posible verificar que hay diferencias significativas en la infiltración de agua, en la parte superficial del suelo,entre las coberturas con bosque y con pastoreo, donde las condiciones edáficas son iguales. La vegetación forestal denota su papel potencial en la infiltración de agua de lluvia en la planicie de inundación del área.

Farmlands have gradually been replaced by apple orchards in Shaanxi province, China, and there will be a risk of severe soil-water-storage deficit with the increasing age of the apple trees. To provide a theoretical basis for the sustainable development of agriculture and forestry in the Loess Plateau, soil water content in a 19-year-old apple orchard, a 9-year-old apple orchard, a cornfield and a wheat field in the Changwu Tableland was investigated at different depths from January to October 2014. The results showed that: (1) the soil moisture content is different across the soil profile—for the four plots, the soil moisture of the cornfield is the highest, followed by the 9-year-old apple orchard and the wheat field, and the 19-year-old apple orchard has the lowest soil moisture. (2) There are varying degrees of soil desiccation in the four plots: the most serious degree of desiccation is in the 19-year-old apple orchard, followed by the wheat field and the cornfield, with the least severe desiccation occurring in the 9-year-old apple orchard. Farmland should replace apple orchards for an indefinite period while there is an extremely desiccated soil layer in the apple orchard so as to achieve the purpose of sustainable development. It will be necessary to reduce tree densities, and to carry out other research, if development of the economy and ecology of Changwu is to be sustainable.

Os quarenta mil quilômetros quadrados de savana (cerrado) em Roraima vêm sendo substituídos por agricultura, pecuária e florestamento, portanto, objetivou-se avaliar o efeito da conversão da savana nativa para plantios de Acacia mangium, com diferentes idades, em diferentes classes de solos e profundidades dos solos nas características químicas, físicas e no teor de água do solo. O trabalho foi conduzido em duas fazendas do Empreendimento Ouro Verde Agrosilvopastoril Ltda, no município do Cantá, RR, em plantios de Acacia mangium com até quatro anos de implantação comparado a condição natural (savana). As áreas situam-se em solos da classe Latossolo Amarelo distrófico (Fazenda Tuquinha) e Argissolo Amarelo distrófico (Fazenda Garimpeira) e as variáveis foram avaliadas nas profundidades de 0 - 30; 30 - 60 e 60 - 90 cm. As variáveis analisadas foram: pH, bases trocáveis, alumínio trocável, H+ + Al3+, fósforo, sódio, Matéria Orgânica do Solo (MOS), granulometria, densidade do solo e teor de água no solo. Em geral, os solos são de baixa fertilidade natural, verificando-se que a implantação de Acaciamangium não apresentou alterações químicas positivas no solo, revelando uma tendência de aumento da umidade do solo coma idade de plantio de Acacia mangium. = The forty thousand square kilometers of savannah (cerrado) in Roraima State, Brazil, are being replaced by agriculture and forestry. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of native savanna conversion to plantationsof Acacia mangium at different ages, classes and soil depths on chemical and physical attribute and water content of soil. Thisresearch was done in two farms of Ouro Verde Agrossilvopastoril Ltda., in the city of Cantá – RR, with up to four year oldAcacia mangium crops at Tuquinha`s farm and at Garimpeira`s farm, and in natural savanna conditions. The collected samples were of dystrophic yellow Latosol (Tuquinha farm) and dystrophic yellow Alfi sols (Garimpeira farm) in depths: 0-30; 30-60 and 60-90 cm and submitted to the following analysis: pH, exchangeable bases, exchangeable aluminum, H+ + Al3+, phosphorus, sodium, soil organic matter, particle size, soil density and water content in soil. In general they are low fertility soil, noticing that the introduction of Acacia mangium showed no significant chemical changes in the soil, revealing a trend to increase the soil humidity with the age of the Acacia mangium crop.

Amidst changing climates, understanding the world’s water resources is of increasing importance. In Ontario, Canada, low water conditions are currently assessed using only precipitation and watershed-based stream gauges by the Conservation Authorities in Ontario and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Regional groundwater-storage changes in Ontario are not currently measured using satellite data by research institutes. In this study, contributions from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data are compared to a hydrogeological database covering southern Ontario from 2003 to 2013, to determine the suitability of GRACE total water storage estimates for monitoring groundwater storage in this location. Terrestrial water storage data from GRACE were used to determine monthly groundwater storage (GWS) anomaly values. GWS values were also determined by multiplying groundwater-level elevations (from the Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network wells) by specific yield. Comparisons of GRACE-derived GWS to well-based GWS data determined that GRACE is sufficiently sensitive to obtain a meaningful signal in southern Ontario. Results show that GWS values produced by GRACE are useful for identifying regional changes in groundwater storage in areas with limited available hydrogeological characterization data. Results also indicate that GRACE may have an ability to forecast changes in groundwater storage, which will become useful when monitoring climate shifts in the near future.