Pegada hídrica da produção de grãos em polos de irrigação do Cerrado e da transição Cerrado-Amazônia de Mato Grosso, Brasil

Abstract

The Brazilian agricultural sector is a very expressive segment in terms of the use of water resources, mainly in the State of Mato Grosso, which is home to one of the largest irrigation centers in the country, in regions characterized by the Cerrado and Amazonian biomes. Since water resources are finite and their use is intensive, the quantification of water use by agriculture can contribute to the adoption of public policies for the management of water resources. Thus, the objective of this work was to estimate the Water Footprint of rainfed soybeans, off-season corn and winter beans in the Cerrado biome and in the Cerrado - Amazon transition of the State of Mato Grosso. The green and blue Water Footprints were obtained using crop evapotranspiration to calculate water demand, while the gray Water Footprint was calculated using parameters of application rate of nitrogen fertilizer on crops and its leaching into the soil. In the Cerrado area, the average Water Footprint for soybean, corn and bean crops were, respectively, 1.486 m³/ton, 1.016 m³/ton and 2.084 m³/ton. In the Cerrado - Amazon transition, the soybean average corresponded to 1.476 m³/ton, corn was 1.052 m³/ton and beans 1.898 m³/ton. The Water Footprint indicator contributes with information on how the appropriation of water destined for the cultivation of grains occurs, resulting in a value that serves to analyze the sustainability of water uses.