Revista Ambiente & Água - An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Science

1-9

Authors: Farley Souza Ribeiro Menezes; Gizelly Gomes da Cruz; Matheus de Oliveira Lopes; David Lee Nelson; Tamira Quintiliana Gomes Martins; Marcelo Luiz de Laia*

The current global environmental and economic scenario is intrinsically related to the increase in fossil fuel consumption caused by technological development and world population growth. Thus, it is necessary to search for renewable sources of biofuel in an attempt to mitigate the effects of fossil fuels on the environment and the lack of these non-renewable fuels. The use of lignocellulosic biomass, an abundant and renewable resource in Brazilian regions, has contributed successfully to new research and technologies for second-generation ethanol production. The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars requires the use of cellulolytic enzymes produced by microorganisms found in the microbiota. This work evaluated the production of endoglucanase and β-glucosidase in a liquid medium containing carboxymethylcellulose by five microorganisms (bacteria and yeasts) from the bank of 348 isolates from eucalyptus soils in the Cerrado Mineiro. Microorganisms with the following enzymatic activity indexes were selected: IM1-74 (22), IM25-9 (5.33), IM32-90 (7.33), IM1-5 (10.33) and IM32-91 (5.44). The microorganisms with the highest enzymatic activity in the liquid medium were IM32-90 (endoglucanase = 0.214 U mL-1) and IM32-91 (β-glucosidase = 0.067 U mL-1).

1-10

Authors: Barbara Ucelis Lyra* ; Daniel Rigo

The construction of scenarios using hydrological models can evaluate the hydrological response in watersheds, due to changes in the soil use. In this context, this study analyzed the consequences of deforestation in the hydrological behavior of the Doce River Basin, which has a drainage area of approximately 86.715 km². The basin presents problems regarding water availability, floods, indiscriminate deforestation and inadequate soil management. The Model of Large Basins (MGB-IPH) was selected, using daily data from 1990 to 2014, 11 fluviometric, 81 rainfall and 12 meteorological stations, numerical model of the land, soil maps, and use and land cover. Hydrological modeling was performed in the following steps: calibration of parameters (1990 and 2005), validation (2006 to 2014) and simulation of deforestation scenarios (2000 to 2014). It was observed that the replacement of forests by pasture caused reductions in the average annual flows, indicating a decrease in average flows in deforestation scenarios. As for the behavior of floods, deforestation caused them to increase, while the annual minimum flows reduced with deforestation. The results demonstrate the worsening that the simulated scenarios can cause in the problems already found in the basin, such as floods and water shortages, to supply the uses for which the basin is intended.

1-11

Authors: Andressa Scholz Berça; Thais Grandizoli Mendonça; Claudinei Fonseca Souza*

Irrigation has been pointed out in recent decades as the major consumer of water. Considering the need for a rational use of water resources and the importance of mulching for planting, this study evaluated the effect of organic mulching (sugarcane straw) under soil water storage for cabbage crop development. This research was conducted at CCA/UFSCar, and the experimental design was a completely randomized design with four replications and two treatments with and without sugarcane straw. Water application was performed by a drip irrigation system and irrigation management was determined from data collected by TDR. The use of organic mulching did not interfere with cabbage productivity under greenhouse conditions. The straw presents efficiency for reduction of soil evaporation and, consequently, increases water-use efficiency. The soil cover made it possible to save up to 28.1 mm (14.5%) of the water depth.

1-11

Authors: Carina Aline Prado; Mariana Paiva Batagini Giron; Fernanda Gonçalves Mendes; Marco Aurélio Kondracki de Alcântara*; Hélcio José Izário Filho

Sustainability encompasses several aspects, one of which is the reuse of nutrient-rich effluent. In recent years, improper disposal of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical effluent, which contain recalcitrant compounds, has caused great environmental damage. An alternative disposal strategy that has been studied for several residues is their reuse for agricultural purposes. This work evaluated the potential of using pharmaceutical effluent for fertilizing Schinus molle, a native Brazilian species locally known as “aroeira-salsa.” Effluent was pretreated by chemical precipitation, and the solid phase was tested as fertilizer. Seedlings were grown in soil or compost. The soil used was classified as Red-Yellow Acrisol with medium loamy texture and high Al content, which is typically found in the Vale do Paraíba region, São Paulo, Brazil. Two agricultural composts were used as substrate, both from the Taboão Ecological Park located in Vale do Paraíba. Fertilizer application improved the physicochemical characteristics of all growing media, increasing C, N, P, K, Mg, and Ca contents, base saturation, and pH, while decreasing Al content and density. Fertilization improved nutrient absorption and plant growth.

1-9

Authors: Helenice Silva de Jesus; Servio Tulio Alves Cassini*; Marcos Vinicius Pereira; Aline Figueredo Dassoler; Ricardo Franci Gonçalves

Six Chlorophyta strains were isolated from the effluent of an anaerobic reactor treating municipal wastewater and identified as Desmodesmus sp. L02, Chlorococcum sp. L04, Coccomyxa sp. L05, Chlorella sp. L06, Scenedesmus sp. L08 and Tetradesmus sp. L09. The microalgae strains were cultivated in unsterilized wastewater under laboratory conditions to determine their potential to survive under non-sterile conditions. The strains were also cultivated in sterilized wastewater in order to analyze their nutrient removal potential and characterize the produced biomass. Amongst the isolated microalgae, Chlorella sp. L06 had the highest survivorship percentage (90%) for ten days of culture, whilst Desmodesmus sp. L02 had the lowest, not exceeding 1.8% after 24h of inoculation. The dried biomass of the isolates showed an average of 28.7% of protein, 15.4% of lipids and 14.8% of carbohydrates, with Chlorococcum sp. L04 reaching 29.3% of carbohydrates. In terms of nutrients, nitrogen removal varied from 59.2 to 93%, and phosphorus removal ranged from 79.1 to 95.4%, with Tetradesmus sp. L09 being the most efficient strain.

1-13

Authors: Cristian Epifanio Toledo* ; Nayra Rodrigues Alcantara

Water reservoirs, in general, have been considered to be the major cause of reduction of downstream hydrological connectivity in channels. Therefore, this study analyzed the sensitivity of hydrological connectivity in the Orós Reservoir hydrographic basin by using the ResNet model, designed to simulate the processes involved in fluvial hydrological connectivity in environments with a high density of reservoirs. The analysis of hydrological connectivity was performed with the model ResNetM, which simulated hydrological processes and considered hydrological connectivity between the reservoirs, according to the criteria established in this research. To identify the main elements that affect hydrological connectivity, sensitivity analysis (SI) was performed of some input parameters of the model. The sensitivity analysis indicated that the modification of the topology of the reservoir network was the variable that presented the highest sensitivity to hydrological connectivity, with a sensitivity value of 1.07, followed by the runoff coefficient, which obtained a sensitivity of 0.8. The modification of the rainfall and of the reservoir storage capacity, showed an intermediate sensitivity, with values of 0.46 and 0.45, respectively. On the other hand, the parameters of potential evaporation and transmission loss showed the lowest sensitivity, obtaining values of 0.19 and 0.01, respectively. In conclusion, the runoff coefficient and the reservoir network (change in the reservoir number of the network) were the parameters evaluated with the highest sensitivity of hydrological connectivity. Thus, the alteration of the landscape by man provides significant changes in river navigation between the reservoirs in the basin.

1-10

Authors: Marco Aurelio Calixto Ribeiro de Holanda*; Willames de Albuquerque Soares

The process of urbanization interferes in the elements of the hydrological cycle, altering the infiltration, flow, and evaporation of rainwater. Several methods and tests exist for analyzing this hydrological cycle that aim to hydrodynamically characterize the soil of a locality. However, the collection and field trials can be expensive and time consuming. Because of these high costs, it is important to look for methods that save time and money. One such method is to perform simulations of water flow in the soil, using computational models such as Hydrus 1-D, in order to explain the water balance of a region. The results of these simulations showed that 355.18 mm.m-2 of the total 385.02 mm.m-2 of precipitation was able to infiltrate, indicating that the soil of the region has a high infiltration capacity, due to its high sand content. However, of the 228,000 m2 studied, only 38,760 m2 are unpaved soil. This shows that the soil at the location studied would be able to infiltrate most rainwater without the occurrence of flooding, if more than only 17% of the land area were permeable soil. This conclusion can be extrapolated to other areas surrounding this neighborhood and to other large urban centers, which have similar characteristics.

1-12

Authors: Wilhan Douglas Reis* ; Aldecy de Almeida Santos ; Eduarda da Conceição Oliveira ; João Batista Ito

The amount of wastewater has increased due to the considerable expansion of higher education institutions. When wastewater is released without treatment or with inefficient treatment, it causes significant water pollution. In this context, this study evaluated the performance of Constructed Wetlands as a post-treatment of a decanter digester followed by an anaerobic filter, operated with effluent from the Federal University of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá Campus, Mato Grosso State. Four wetlands were constructed to develop the research: planted with Typha domingensis, planted with Heliconia psittacorum, planted with Pontederia parviflora, and not planted. The following physicochemical parameters were analyzed: Color, Turbidity, pH, Temperature, Total Solids, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Nitrogen, Sulfate, Nitrate and Nitrite. The results show an organic matter removal efficiency with mean removal results: 70% BOD5 for TCW, HCW and PCW; and COD 76% for PCW. The mean removal of total phosphorus was 78% for PCW and 92% NO-2, as macronutrients. Analysis of variance ANOVA shows significance in the results of TDS, SO4 and COD removal.