Riparian forests and cattle management problems in Andean subtropical streams: in the search of water quality sustainability
Palavras-chave:
Riverine quality indices, Introduced species, Land uses, Intermountain valleys, South AmericaResumo
Quiroga, P. A.; H. R. Fernández; M. D. Sirombra; E. Domínguez. 2011. “Riparian forests and cattle management problems in Andean subtropical streams: in the search of water quality sustainability”. Lilloa 48 (1). Subtropical Andes harbor the headwaters of three huge South American basins (Plata, Salí-Dulce and part of the Amazon). They are affected by numerous different human activities, many of them too complex to approach from punctual perspectives. It has been suggested that domestic cattle activities result in a set of direct and indirect impacts. Riverine landscapes in Andean subtropics are affected by the type of cattle management used. Here we present the observed changes in a river and its surrounding area, from a basin studied for ten years. We concluded that cows can be considered as landscape engineers of the riparian zone. The QBR-MR (a modification of the European River Quality Index) is proposed, to include the cattle impact on Mountain Riparian forests. A detailed station by station description of the Riparian forest (percentage of exotic/native species and visual evaluation of different cattle impacts) and biological index based water quality are presented. The information is summarized in a map, easily accessible by policy designers. Combined quality indices for water and riparian areas are promissory tools to identify problems and biomonitoring in subtropical basins.
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