MORPHOMETRIC CHARACTERIZATION AND USE AND OCCUPATION OF THE MACHADINHO RIVER RIVER BASIN - RO

Abstract

Although the amount of water on the planet is considered permanent, this does not occur in hydrographic basins, where water is dispersed in time and space. The transience of level, flow and quality is justified due to anthropic impacts, as well as the natural transformations of the environment. Thus, the morphometric characterization of a hydrographic basin becomes an indispensable tool for water management, because through it it is possible to predict its degree of vulnerability, considering extreme phenomena such as floods. The present study aimed to evaluate the physical characteristics of the Machadinho River Sub-Basin, inserted in the Machado River Basin, confronting it with current and proposed uses, as well as its possible implications on the quality of surface water and future uses. For this purpose, some morphometric parameters were estimated using the QGis 3.16.8 software, namely: Compactness Coefficient, Shape Factor, Circularity Index, Conformation Index, Average Slope, Drainage Density and Drainage Order. It was observed that the sub-basin had low drainage capacity, with a form factor of 0.183 and the conformation index of 0.134, indicating that it does not have a circular shape, being elliptical and elongated and less subject to flooding, considering normal precipitation situations. As for the use and occupation of the soil, the region of the basin under study has a significant deforested area, which began due to anthropic processes, highlighting the extraction of wood, livestock and agriculture, bringing as consequences several impacts on the Sub- Machadinho river basin.