Ecological Risk Assessment (Era) Application for the Evaluation of Impacts on Natural Aquatic Ecosystems

Abstract

The present research employs the Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) method to evaluate the probability of adverse effects in the water supply of Bom Repouso (MG), a city where the agriculture has caused an advanced degree of degradation of its sources. The methodology is based on the integration of different variables, divided into three Lines of Evidence (chemical, physical-chemical and ecotoxicological), and allows for the evaluation of risk assessment between 0.0 and 1.0 in the sampled environment. Five sampling points were evaluated in three periods, with the results varying between the four possible ratings (from low to very high), and it was not possible to identify a pattern of risk evolution between them. Thus, the method used proved to be efficient in assessing the degree of degradation of the environment, however, additional studies are required to improve this type of systemic impact assessment, based on the evaluation of the environmental degradation.