Physiography, geology, and land cover of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico: Chapter A in Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico
Professional Paper
1789-A
This report is Chapter A in Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico. For more information, see: Professional Paper 1789.
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Abstract
Four watersheds with differing geology and land cover in eastern Puerto Rico have been studied on a long-term basis by the U.S. Geological Survey to evaluate water, energy, and biogeochemical budgets. These watersheds are typical of tropical, island-arc settings found in many parts of the world. Two watersheds are located on coarse-grained granitic rocks that weather to quartz- and clay-rich, sandy soils, and two are located on fine-grained volcanic rocks and volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks that weather to quartz-poor, fine-grained soils. For each bedrock type, one watershed is covered with mature forest, and the other watershed, like most of Puerto Rico, has transformed from relatively undisturbed pre-European forest to intensive agriculture in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and further to ongoing reforestation that began in the middle of the 20th century. The comparison of water chemistry and hydrology in these watersheds allows an evaluation of the effects of land-use history and geology on hydrologic regimes and erosion rates. This chapter describes the physiography, geology, and land cover of the four watersheds and provides background information for the remaining chapters in this volume.
Suggested Citation
Murphy, S.F., Stallard, R.F., Larsen, M.C., Gould, W.A., 2012, Physiography, geology, and land cover of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico: Chapter A in Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1789, 24 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1789A.
ISSN: 2330-7102 (online)
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Physiography, geology, and land cover of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico: Chapter A in Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico |
| Series title | Professional Paper |
| Series number | 1789 |
| Chapter | A |
| DOI | 10.3133/pp1789A |
| Year Published | 2012 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Branch of Regional Research-Central Region |
| Description | 24 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Report |
| Larger Work Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Larger Work Title | Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico (Professional Paper 1789) |
| First page | 1 |
| Last page | 24 |
| Country | Puerto Rico |