La evolución del uso del suelo y del agua en la cuenca del arroyo Piçarrão (Araguari-MG-Brasil): un estudio de caso

Abstract

The agricultural expansion in the basin of the creek Piçarrão during the period from 1970 to 2005 produced changes in the use of soil and water that heretofore have not been documented in the literature. A diagnosis of the situation was carried out for the years 2002 to 2004 to evaluate the prospect of agricultural activity in the basin. The literature was reviewed, 16 rural producers were interviewed, and the creek and its tributaries were inspected. The results of the study are presented in form of maps and tables. The total area drained by the creek is 388 km2, nine pivots do the irrigation, and the creek's flow rate varies between 1.5 and 80.0 m3 per second with an annual average of 8.0 m3 per second. The study identified water availability as main limiting factor of agricultural development in the basin