Simulation of the Hydrologic Effects of Afforestation in the Tacuarembo River Basin, Uruguay
In 1999, researchers at North Carolina State University initiated a study to determine the long-term hydrologic and water quality impacts of the land use conversion from pasture to pine plantation in the Tacuarembo River basin in northern Uruguay.
The main objective of the study is to determine the effects of the change in land use on annual water yield, peak flow rates, base flows and water quality. A paired catchment approach is being used to determine the effects. Two adjacent catchments located on the La Corona ranch were selected: one will remain in pasture with livestock grazing and one was planted with pine trees (pinus taeda - loblolly pine).
Flumes were installed at the outlets to the catchments between January and June 2000 in order to measure flow rates. Data collection began on July 1, 2000. Outflow rates and water table depths are continuously measured on each catchment. Rainfall and meterological conditions are also measured continuously on the experimental site.
During the pretreatment period, both catchments remained in pasture in order to compare the hydrology and water quality between the two catchments before the pine trees were planted. Data from the 36-month period (July 2000 through June 2003) were analyzed to examine the hydrologic behavior of these two catchments. The treatment catchment was planted in July 2003.
Reports
2005 von Stackelberg Thesis (pdf)
Contributors
The study is sponsored by the Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation and by the Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA). Funds supplied by INIA were used in Uruguay to support construction and instrumentation of flumes to measure drainage rates from two adjacent watersheds.
North Carolina State University (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Dr. R. Wayne Skaggs (contact)
Dr. George M. (Chip) Chescheir (contact)
Dr. Devendra Amatya (contact)
Dr. Wendell Gilliam (contact)
Nicholas von Stackelberg (contact)
Universidad de la Republica (Montevideo, Uruguay) (web
page)
Dr. Carlos Perdomo
Dr. Fernando Garcia Prechac
Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA) (web page)
Colonvade S.A. Company
Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation