Work

Private lands, public water: distribution and environmental associations of Veredas wetlands in the Cerrado

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The water crisis demands urgent protection of water-provisioning ecosystems like the Cerrado, the world’s most biodiverse savanna and major agricultural region. Situated on a plateau, it acts as a rainwater collector, feeding rivers and sustaining Brazil’s river systems. Veredas are key Cerrado wetlands formed in flatlands where the water table emerges. The lack of mapping and broader geographic comprehension hinders integrated conservation planning, leaving Veredas impacted and neglected by policy and society. We combined registry-based spatial data from the Brazilian Rural Environmental Register (SICAR) with geoprocessing techniques to assess the number, density, distribution, and environmental associations of Veredas across the Cerrado’s private properties, which cover ~85% of the biome. Within the sampled private-property domain, we identified 38,614 Veredas occupying only 0.28% of the area, indicating that land conversion offers little territorial gain. Veredas across macroregions occur under contrasting pedological and climatic conditions, demonstrating broad environmental distribution. Despite substantial spatial aggregation, Veredas occur across the sampled macroregions, with their numbers positively associated with area size at both state and municipal levels. The positive associations with precipitation, depth to bedrock, and altitude show the importance of water availability, soil depth, and plateau geomorphology in shaping Vereda distribution. Our results underscore the importance of private properties for Vereda conservation, with implications for biodiversity protection and water security across the Cerrado and downstream regions. Safeguarding these services requires stricter policies built through dialogue among decision-makers, landowners, and citizens.

Source: Wetlands Ecology and Management

DOI: 10.1007/s11273-026-10210-3