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Summary Collecting and interpreting permeability data in karst systems is considered complicated due to three distinct properties of these systems. First, the distribution of high permeability features may be one-dimensional features difficult to detect with wells, or may be so high in the wells the upper measurement limit is encountered during aquifer testing. Secondly, turbulent flow may make the application of continuum hydraulic principles difficult. Finally, permeability in these systems commonly increases with the scale of measurement. The aquifer for Sete Lagoas, Brazil, was used to evaluate a permeability combination methodology testing the permeability structure across a range of spatial scales in order to develop a quantitative model of hydraulically active features consistent across all scales of measurement, from matrix properties to regional-scale flow. The aquifer in this study has some wells without measurable drawdown during pumping due to high permeability. Data indicated an increase in permeability from the small- to the well-scale and a decrease from the well- to regional-scale due to the localized development of a karst bedding plane dissolution in one structurally controlled region of the aquifer. The matrix permeability in the region is very low and the secondary porosity is mostly filled by secondary precipitation of calcite. Based on measurement technique, the permeability data vary over many orders of magnitude, while the physical size of permeable features of the aquifer are consistent across the scales of data collection. The geometry provides a quantitative understanding of the scale effects of permeability measurements.

Neste estudo, investigaram-se a porosidade e condutividade hidráulica da zona saturada do solo, buscando entender como essas variáveis físicas afetam os processos hidrológicos em uma área de floresta primária, sob pressão urbana, na Amazônia central. O experimento foi realizado na Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke, localizada ao norte da cidade de Manaus, AM. No igarapé Bolívia foi instalado um posto fluviométrico (régua linimétrica e linígrafo); no local, foram instalados quatro piezômetros na zona ripária, perpendicular ao curso do igarapé. A porosidade variou no perfil do solo, alcançando valores acima de 0,40 cm³/cm³. Os valores médios de condutividade hidráulica saturada ou infiltração básica (K) foram elevados e variaram de 89,5 ± 12,8 a 279,5 ± 9,0 mm/h. O nível d'água no igarapé oscilou entre 65 e 141 cm, no período de observação (novembro de 2005 a outubro de 2007). O piezômetro da camada profunda do solo, distante do curso d'água, variou entre 166,2 e 304,9 cm. As condutividades hidráulicas do solo saturado foram maiores nos pontos mais distantes do curso d'água, tanto na camada superficial quanto na profunda, determinando o comportamento hidrológico do lençol freático no local. This study investigated the porosity and the hydraulic conductivity on the saturated zone of the soil trying to understand how these physical variables affect the hydrological processes, in an area of primary forest under urban pressure, in Central Amazonia. The experiment was carried out in the Adolpho Ducke Forest Reserve, located on the north of the city of Manaus - AM. One water measurement station (water level scale) was installed in the Igarapé Bolívia and four piezometers were installed in the site, the latter on the riparian zone, perpendicular to the course of the stream. The porosity varied in the soil profile, reaching values above 0.40 cm³/cm³. The mean values for the saturated hydraulic conductivity or basic infiltration (K) were high and varied from 89.5 ± 12.8 to 279.5 ± 9.0 mm/h. The stream water level varied from 65 to 141 cm in the observation period (November of 2005 to October of 2007). The deep soil layer piezometer, away from the water stream, varied from 166.2 e 304.9 cm. The hydraulic conductivities of the saturated soil increase with the distance from the stream on the two studied layers, determining the hydrological behavior of the water table in that site.

Soil water tension was measured 22 times through a 50 day period, in a transect with 48 sets of tensiometers at five depths. General variability and temporal stability of this property as well as the spatio-temporal dependence of its variability were evaluated. The whole data set was divided into subsets according to location and time of measurement. The variability of soil water tension could be explained by a temporal trend (macro variation) and a random-like micro-variation. The tension values increased similarly for all locations along the measured period, and exhibited strong temporal stability, which was higher at the top layers. It was possible to identify and model spatio-temporal dependence of the variability. The spatial variograms for the sub-sets presented higher uncertainties, but were very similar to each other. Temporal dependence was clearly identified for transformed data, although larger differences were found between sub-sets. Very good agreement was found between the actual and the estimated data using the product–sum model for the spatio-temporal dependence. The procedure seems suitable for combining the spatial and temporal scales to expand the description of the variability dependence of soil hydraulic properties.

AIM: The main goal of this research was to investigate the influence of the hydrological pulses on the space-temporal dynamics of physical and chemical variables in a wetland adjacent to Jacupiranguinha River (São Paulo, Brazil); METHODS: Eleven sampling points were distributed among the wetland, a tributary by its left side and the adjacent river. Four samplings were carried out, covering the rainy and the dry periods. Measures of pH, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity and redox potential were taken in regular intervals of the water column using a multiparametric probe. Water samples were collected for the nitrogen and total phosphorus analysis, as well as their dissolved fractions (dissolved inorganic phosphorus, total dissolved phosphorus, ammoniacal nitrogen and nitrate). Total alkalinity and suspended solids were also quantified; RESULTS: The Multivariate Analysis of Variance showed the influence of the seasonality on the variability of the investigated variables, while the Principal Component Analysis gave rise in two statistical significant axes, which delimited two groups representative of the rainy and dry periods. Hydrological pulses from Jacupiranguinha River, besides contributing to the inputs of nutrients and sediments during the period of connectivity, accounted for the decrease in spatial gradients in the wetland. This "homogenization effect" was evidenced by the Cluster Analysis. The research also showed an industrial raw effluent as the main point source of phosphorus to the Jacupiranguinha River and, indirectly, to the wetland; CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, considering the scarcity of information about the wetlands in the study area, this research, besides contributing to the understanding of the influence of hydrological pulses on the investigated environmental variables, showed the need for adoption of conservation policies of these ecosystems face the increase anthropic pressures that they have been submitted, which may result in lack of their ecological, social and economic functions. OBJETIVO: O objetivo desta pesquisa foi investigar a influência dos pulsos de inundação sobre a dinâmica espaço-temporal de variáveis físicas e químicas em uma área alagada adjacente ao Rio Jacupiranguinha (São Paulo, Brasil). Onze pontos de amostragem foram distribuídos entre a área alagada, incluindo um tributário pela margem esquerda e o canal do rio adjacente; MÉTODOS: Quatro campanhas de amostragem foram realizadas, cobrindo os períodos seco e chuvoso. Medidas de pH, oxigênio dissolvido, condutividade elétrica e potencial redox foram realizadas em intervalos regulares da coluna d'água usando uma sonda multiparâmetros. Amostras de água foram coletadas para análise de nitrogênio e fósforo total, além de suas frações dissolvidas (fósforo inorgânico dissolvido, fósforo total dissolvido, nitrogênio amoniacal e nitrato). Alcalinidade total e sólidos suspensos também foram quantificados; RESULTADOS: A Análise Multivariada de Variância mostrou influência da sazonalidade sobre a variabilidade das variáveis investigadas, enquanto que a Análise de Componentes Principais deu origem a dois eixos estatisticamente significativos, os quais delimitaram dois grupos representativos dos períodos seco e chuvoso. Os pulsos hidrológicos do Rio Jacupiranguinha, além de contribuírem para o aporte de nutrientes e sedimentos durante o período de conectividade, foram responsáveis pela diminuição dos gradientes espaciais na área alagada. Este "efeito de homogeneização" foi evidenciado pela Análise de Cluster. A pesquisa também mostrou um efluente bruto industrial como a principal fonte pontual de fósforo para o Rio Jacupiranguinha e, indiretamente, para a área alagada; CONCLUSÕES: Portanto, considerando a escassez de informações sobre os ecossistemas aquáticos da área de estudo, esta pesquisa, além de contribuir para o entendimento da influência dos pulsos hidrológicos sobre as variáveis ambientais da área alagada investigada, mostrou a necessidade da adoção de medidas de conservação destes ecossistemas frente crescente pressão antrópica a que estão submetidos, as quais podem resultar em perdas de suas funções ecológicas, sociais e econômicas.

Com dados obtidos em perfis de terra roxa estruturada do município de Piracicaba (SP), é mostrada a dificuldade da estimativa de fluxos de água no solo, utilizando o modelo de Darcy-Buckingham. O experimento trata do estabelecimento de balanços hídricos em 25 parcelas de 5 x 5 m, alinhadas ao longo de uma transeção de 125 m. O componente drenagem profunda do balanço hídrico é estimado mediante medidas de umidade do solo (teta, cm³/cm³), feitas com sonda de nêutrons, e de potencial total da água do solo H (cm H2O) obtidas com tensiômetros. O trabalho mostra a grande dificuldade da estimativa de fluxos de drenagem q (mm/dia), a qual está relacionada: (1) à exponencialidade da relação entre a condutividade hidráulica do solo k (mm/dia) e a umidade do solo ou o potencial matricial da água no solo h (cm H(2)0), e (2) à variabilidade espacial do solo. Difficulties of using Darcy-Buckingham's model to estimate unsaturated soil water flux densities are shown using field data collected in a Alfisol ("terra roxa estruturada") at Piracicaba, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The experiment consists of the establishment of water balances on 25 experimental plots of 5 m x 5 m, aligned along a 125 m transect. The deep drainage component of the water balances is estimated using soil water content data obtained through neutron probe readings and soil water potential data measured with mercury manometer tensiometers. The work shows the great difficulty of estimating drainage fluxes, which is mainly related to (1) the exponential relation between soil hydraulic conductivity and soil water content or soil water potential, and (2) soil spatial variability.