Indicative Parameters for Water Quality in Water Springs with Different Land Cover and Conservation of Riparian Vegetation

The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the water quality of four water springs located in different land cover types and conservation of vegetation along the Pimenta stream. Water sampling was conducted monthly for one year. Ten physicochemical parameters were evaluated and data were submitted to the Tukey test. Water spring number one (N1) is located in an area of preserved riparian forest; water spring number two (N2) is located in an area of disturbed riparian forest; water spring number three (N3) is in an area of disturbed bamboo and riparian forest; and water spring number four (N4) is in a degrading area of pasture cover. N1 and N2 showed lower values for the parameters of temperature, turbidity, color, nitrate, nitrite and iron, and pH values close to neutral. N3 showed lower values for electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity and pH. The results found for N1 and N2 indicate that seven parameters were higher regarding water quality, which demonstrates that native vegetation can help protect water quality.