Abstract
Studies related to morphometric analysis are extremely important for hydrogemorphological knowledge in watersheds. However, most rural roads are not considered in these analyses. Therefore, the objective of this article was to verify if the relations between the drainage network, the relief parameters, and the road network indicate changes in the drainage dynamics of a watershed occupied by agricultural use. The sugarcane crop is an influencing factor in the increase in rural roads in the watershed and arrived in the region from 2009 onwards. Therefore, the time frame of 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 was chosen for the investigation. Bibliographic research and quantitative measurements were used as a methodology to extract information from the drainage network and road network through morphometric parameters. For this, ArcGIS® 10.6.1 and Excel 2019 software were used. As a result, it was identified that the watershed has a fourth-order river hierarchy; its area is 903.6 km2, the drainage density is 0.45 km/km2, and when rural roads were included in the analysis in 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020, corresponding to 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, and 3.1 km/km2, respectively. Thus, the average density of roads in the period was 84% higher when considering only natural drainage, increasing mainly after the insertion of sugarcane in the scenario. Therefore, it is concluded that the analysis of morphometric parameters is essential to generate new knowledge about the studied watershed. Rural roads should be included in the analysis since they influence the hydrogeomorphological aspects of the watersheds. In this case, the increase in drainage density is directly related to the increase in roads and sugarcane. With the inclusion of these in the morphometric analysis, the watershed increases its drainage capacity, significantly altering the hydrological response in hydrographic watersheds.
Keywords:
Unpaved roads Hydrological connectivity; River channels; Crossing roads and rivers
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