Indicadores de qualidade ambiental de uma área de preservação permanente urbana com afloramentos de água: Parque Américo Renée Giannetti

Abstract

The analysis of environmental quality indicators of an urban Permanent Preservation Area (APP) seeks to elucidate how the Américo Renné Giannetti park is inserted in the valorization of the natural heritage and built in the center of Belo Horizonte. This research presents substantiated data on the importance of preserving an area rich in water outcrops in a densely built territory. The excessive waterproofing of the soil around the park makes it almost like an oasis amidst so many buildings. The canalization of water courses and the filling of springs in the built-up area around the park have been causing serious flooding problems in urban areas. Therefore, it is important to know which ecosystem service standards can be used as indicators of environmental quality related to the soil and water cycle in an urban environment such as the park and its surroundings. As indicators of ecosystem services of functional status, the following parameters were used: water content, water retained in the soil or matric potential, soil fertility, textural analysis as well as atmospheric humidity and temperature of Parque Américo Renné Giannetti compared to the impermeable area the parking lot of the UFMG School of Medicine that houses arboreal individuals of the genus Ficus , and the surroundings of Escola Pedro ll vegetated with grass species, which are found in the floodplain and flooding area of Arrudas stream. The results obtained confirm that the soils of the park and parking area of Medicine have high water content and matric potential for retaining water in the soil throughout the year, regardless of the rainy and dry seasons, in contrast to the low levels recorded in the control area without arboreal vegetation at the Pedro II school. As the soils of the 3 areas had the same textural characteristics, this difference cannot be attributed to the porous structure of the soil, but to the presence of arboreal vegetation. However, atmospheric humidity was significantly reduced where there was greater waterproofing as in medicine, suggesting the importance of soil evaporation for this purpose. In relation to atmospheric temperature, the more open area, without wind sealing as the control area, showed lower temperatures in both seasons. The high soil water content seems to be related to the arboreal vegetation of both areas. This vegetation ensures the maintenance of the water table and the emergence of springs, playing the role of a riparian forest in flood control. The knowledge gained from this research and the parameters analyzed can and do serve to assess the degree of preservation of ecosystem services over time and assist in flood control.