Avaliação do uso do solo para a bacia do Piabanha, RJ/Brasil usando SWAT (Evaluation of land uses for Piabanha river watershed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil using SWAT)

Abstract

The Piabanha River watershed is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which one of the most densely populated states of Brazil. The watershed has three types of land use: urban area, agricultural and preserved forest. The environmental problems found in the area (e.g., landslides, flooding, water quality degradation in the rivers) are mainly related to its development. Therefore, the Geological Survey of Brazil (CPRM), in partnership with government agencies and universities, has been operating a hydrometeorological network and developing studies in the area in order to understand its hydrologic behavior. The goal of this article is to evaluate the impact of these different land uses on the watershed using SWAT. SWAT was calibrated using mostly information provided by the CPRM project.