Water provisioning improvement through payment for ecosystem services

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 655; pp. 1197 - 1206
• Main Authors: Sone, Jullian S., Gesualdo, Gabriela C., Zamboni, Pedro A.P., Vieira, Nelson O.M., Mattos, Tiago S., Carvalho, Glauber A., Rodrigues, Dulce B.B., Alves Sobrinho, Teodorico, Oliveira, Paulo Tarso S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 10.03.2019
• Subjects: Payment for ecosystem services; Soil and water conservation; Water yield; Payment for ecosystem services; Water yield; Soil and water conservation
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.319

We assess whether a Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) programme met its objectives of reducing soil erosion and yielding water in an environmental protected area, the Guariroba River Basin, Midwestern Brazil. We measured rainfall and water discharge throughout 2012 and 2016. During the same period, soil and water conservation practices were performed in the basin, such as: building level terraces and riparian vegetation recovery. We separated streamflow into baseflow and direct runoff, then we evaluted the baseflow index that indicated that groundwater significantly contributes to total flow. Therefore, to investigate the effects on streamflow, we performed a trend analysis in the baseflow time series using the Mann-Kendall test. In addition, we analysed the efficiency of soil erosion regulation practices over time, considering the total payment and the trends found in the baseflow. Whereas precipitation records present a decreasing trend (1 mm month−1), baseflow tends to increase by 0.018 m3 s−1 in the same period. Our findings show that soil conservation practices performed in the basin increase baseflow and also provide a better resilience to endure extreme events such as drought based on an increase in forest areas and soil conservation practices such as level terrace. [Display omitted] •We assessed the effects of Payment for Ecosystem Services on water provisioning and sediment transport using observed data.•Baseflow tends to increase by 0.018 m3 s−1 in five years;•Soil conservation practices reduced soil erosion by a quarter.