Effects of Multiple Stressors Associated with Land-Use Practices in the Percy-Corintos Basin (Northwest Chubut): An Ecological Assessment

MISERENDINO, MARÍA LAURA; WILLIAMS-SUBIZA, EMILIO A.; MANZO, LUZ MARÍA; HORAK, CRISTINA NATALIA; BRAND, CECILIA; ASSEF, YANINA ANDREA; EPELE, LUIS BELTRAN

Environmental Assessment of Patagonia?s Water Resources

Springer

Año: 2021; p. 1 - 26

Freshwater ecosystems are highly interactive with processes occurring in the basin, any alteration at both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems has potential impacts on the structure, composition and functioning of aquatic communities. The Percy-Corintos Basin (Northwest Chubut Province) is subjected to multiple land-uses including urbanization, deforestation, pasture conversion, extensive and intensive livestock breeding, and horticulture. These local processes had profound effects at regional scale, altering water quality and biodiversity of main watercourses and associated wetlands. Livestock breeding and wood collection had resulted in an important loss of the forest cover at Percy upper basin; in turn, erosion processes caused sedimentation at lower basin. Urbanization resulted in strong organic pollution, habitat impoverishment, and decreasing macroinvertebrates biodiversity at Esquel Stream. At pre-urban areas, constructed wetlands for flood prevention appeared as novel environments increasing spatial heterogeneity, and consequently enhanced macrophytes and aquatic invertebrate?s diversity. While urbanization at Percy lower basin (Trevelin town) produced a moderate effect on the river, agricultural activities like feedlots and horticulture, are increasingly affecting environmental and biological quality of Corintos River. In order to recover ecosystem functioning, management and restoration actions are urgently needed. In this chapter, we detail and discuss specific actions to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services