Alexandre Rosa dos Santos

Identificação das áreas de preservação permanente no município de Alegre utilizando geotecnologia

Due to the need of current studies on the Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs) for the county of Alegre - ES, it is proposed in this study to demonstrate how the use of Geotechnologies can help in an effective way to map those areas, helping to understand the areas to be preserved in the county. The study was accomplished in the whole county of Alegre - ES which objectives were: a) to elaborate analogical and digital maps of the county, with the aid of Geotechnologies; b) to delimit the Areas of Permanent Preservation in the optics of the Environmental Legislation and c) to emphasize the importance of identifying the areas in an automatic way so that it can implant environmental projects that seek to promote actions in search of a maintainable relationship between man and environment in a more efficient way. The county of Alegre has an area of 336,39 km2 of APPs (43,50% of the total area of the county). The methodology for automatic delimitation of APPs was efficient, indicating that the same, around of spring (buffer of 50 m), in the hillsides with steepness superior to 45 degrees, hill top (superior third of hills) and margins of the courses of water (buffer of 30 m) they acted respectively 9,86 km2 (1,27%), 8,99 km2 (1,16%), 237,35 km2 (30,69%) and 95,11 km2 (12,30%) of the total area of the county.

Applying GIS to develop a model for forest fire risk: A case study in Espírito Santo, Brazil

A forest fire risk map is a basic element for planning and protecting forested areas. The main goal of this study was to develop a statistical model for preparing a forest fire risk map using GIS. Such model is based on assigning weights to nine variables divided into two classes: physical factors of the site (terrain slope, land-use/occupation, proximity to roads, terrain orientation, and altitude) and climatic factors (precipitation, temperature, water deficit, and evapotranspiration). In regions where the climate is different from the conditions of this study, the model will require an adjustment of the variables weights according to the local climate. The study area, Espírito Santo State, exhibited approximately 3.81% low risk, 21.18% moderate risk, 30.10% high risk, 41.50% very high risk, and 3.40% extreme risk of forest fire. The areas classified as high risk, very high and extreme, contemplated a total of 78.92% of heat spots.

Using DNA Barcodes to Identify Road-Killed Animals in Two Atlantic Forest Nature Reserves, Brazil

Road mortality is the leading source of biodiversity loss in the world, especially due to fragmentation of natural habitats and loss of wildlife. The survey of the main species victims of roadkill is of fundamental importance for the better understanding of the problem, being necessary, for this, the correct species identification. The aim of this study was to verify if DNA barcodes can be applied to identify road-killed samples that often cannot be determined morphologically. For this purpose, 222 vertebrate samples were collected in a stretch of the BR-101 highway that crosses two Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Natural Reserves, the Sooretama Biological Reserve and the Vale Natural Reserve, in Espírito Santo, Brazil. The mitochondrial COI gene was amplified, sequenced and confronted with the BOLD database. It was possible to identify 62.16% of samples, totaling 62 different species, including Pyrrhura cruentata, Chaetomys subspinosus, Puma yagouaroundi and Leopardus wiedii considered Vulnerable in the National Official List of Species of Endangered Wildlife. The most commonly identified animals were a bat (Molossus molossus), an opossum (Didelphis aurita) and a frog (Trachycephalus mesophaeus) species. Only one reptile was identified using the technique, probably due to lack of reference sequences in BOLD. These data may contribute to a better understanding of the impact of roads on species biodiversity loss and to introduce the DNA barcode technique to road ecology scenarios.

Análise espacial de fragmentos florestais na Bacia do Rio Itapemirim, ES

The objectives of this study were to map and analyze the structure of forest landscape in a representative area of Itapemirim river basin, ES, through indexes of landscape ecology. The mapping of forest fragments was obtained using image interpretation techniques on a scale of 1:1500 of the ortho-image-mosaic of the year 2007. For the ecology metrics calculation, the extension Patch Analyst was used within the computational application ArcGIS 9.3. In general, 3285 forest fragments were found in all the area, representing 17% of the forest covering. The mapped fragments were divided into size classes, considering as small those fragments smaller than 5 ha, average fragments have size between 5 and 50 ha, and large fragments are larger than 50 ha. The small fragments were found in greater number (2,236), followed by average fragments (749), and finally the large fragments, comprising only 100 spots. The number of fragments of each size class has an inverse relationship with the contribution in area of the same class within the forest fragmentation. Quantitative characterizations through landscape metrics were made with groups of area index, density and size, shape, proximity and central area, which was obtained from different simulations of edge effect (20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 140 and 200 m). For all the indexes there were differences on size classes of forest fragments. Most of the basin forest fragments are small, less than 5 h, and the distance of edge 100 meters completely eliminates the central area of these fragments. Although large fragments present the most irregular shapes, they have a higher index central area even under the effect of the greater distance of the edge effect.

Análise da paisagem e mudanças no uso da terra no entorno da RPPN Cafundó, ES

The objective of this study was to map the land use and occupancy classes and to analyze and quantify the structural changes of scenery, between the years 1970 and 2007, surrounding the Conservation Unit (UC) Private reservation of natural patrimony (PRNP) Cafundo, through the use of landscape ecology indexes. With the land use and occupation map itwas possible to characterize quantitatively, in terms of area, the present classes in the surroundings of the reservation. On the 37 evaluated years there were a few changes in the land use and occupancy surrounding the unit, with the areas mostly dominated by grazing. Landscape ecology metrics or indexes were obtained through the Patch Analyst extension by landscape and class level, and values were obtained for the 10 classes of land use and occupancy. The results of quantitative analysis by the use of metrics pointed to an increase in the fragmentation of the landscape surrounding the Units of Preservation PRNP Cafundo.

Spatial and temporal distribution of urban heat islands

The formation of an urban heat island (UHI) is one of the most common impacts of the urbanization process. To mitigate the effects of UHI, the planning of urban forests (e.g., creation of parks, forests and afforestation streets) has been the major tool applied in this context. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the spatial and temporal distribution of heat islands in Vila Velha, ES, Brazil using the mono-window algorithm. The study followed these methodological steps: 1) mapping of urban green areas through a photointerpretation screen; 2) application of the mono-window algorithm to obtain the spatial and temporal patterns of land surface temperature (LST); 3) correlation between LST and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference build-up index (NDBI); 4) application of ecological evaluation index. The results showed that the mean values of LST in urban areas were at least 2.34 to 7.19°C higher than undeveloped areas. Moreover, the positive correlation between LST and NDBI showed an amplifying effect of the developed areas for UHI, while areas with a predominance of vegetation attenuated the effect of UHI. Urban centers, clustered in some parts of the city, received the worst ecological assessment index. Finally, the adoption of measures to guide the urban forest planning within urban centers is necessary to mitigate the effect of heat islands and provide thermal comfort in urban areas.

Bioclimatic distribution and prevalence maps for Fasciola hepatica in Espírito Santo State, Brazil

BackgroundFasciolosis affects different ruminant species and leads to great economic losses for cattle farmers worldwide. Thus, the current study aimed to evaluate bovine fasciolosis prevalence in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, using slaughter maps provided by slaughterhouses and verifying the origin of cattle.MethodsA map was created based on analysis of epidemiological data. The ArcGIS/ArcINFO 10.1 software was employed in order to elaborate updated bioclimatic maps that displayed the fasciolosis prevalence within the state – per city– between 2009 and 2011.ResultsAccording to the bioclimatic map it was clear that 52.24% of the state’s total area comprise regions considered favorable for the development and survival of Fasciola hepatica. According to the data provided by slaughterhouses, the parasite was more frequent in the cities of Atílio Vivácqua, Itapemirim and Anchieta with respective prevalence of 28.41, 25.50 and 24.95%. Although the northern portion of the state is also favorable for the disease maintenance (reaching rates above 90%), several cities presented prevalence of only 0.99 and 1.94% respectively. These findings indicate that climatic and environmental factors only cannot be considered preponderant to fasciolosis occurrence. Regarding the slaughterhouse located in Anchieta city, the higher prevalence was registered in the cities of Jerônimo Monteiro, Alegre and Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, with mean prevalence of 1.21, 1.07 and 2.09% respectively.ConclusionAlthough the present findings suggest a pattern for the prevalence of fasciolosis, records of the cities for the occurrence of the disease usually do not reflect the true origin of animals.

Comparação fotointerpretativa entre aerofoto e imagem de satélite

Este estudo objetivou avaliar o uso de diferentes metodologias na determinacao do uso e ocupacao da terra utilizando aerofotos digitais, com resolucao espacial de 1 m (cenario 01) e imagens de satelite, com resolucao espacial de 0,5 m (cenario 02), fotointerpretadas em tela, na escala cartografica de 1:2.000, da bacia hidrografica do corrego Horizonte, Alegre-ES. Utilizaram-se os indices de desempenho global e indice Kappa para determinacao do erro medio entre os cenarios e teste t a 5 % de probabilidade para avaliar o grau de significância no processo de fotointerpretacao entre os cenarios 01 e 02. Foram identificadas 27 classes de uso da terra para os cenarios 01 e 02. As classes de pastagem (599,62 e 442,43 ha) e fragmento florestal (319,45 e 258,07 ha) respectivamente, ocupando maiores areas nos dois cenarios, compondo 69,80 % para o cenario 01 e 53,04 % para o cenario 02 das areas totais. Verificou-se uma variacao positiva do DG em 6,67 % do cenario 01 em relacao ao cenario 02. Entretanto o K demonstra que o cenario 02 possui uma menor taxa entre os erros de omissao e comissao em 2,09 %, nao apresentado significância pela analise estatistica em nivel de 5 % pelo teste t.

Influence of relief on permanent preservation areas.

Many countries have environmental legislation to protecting natural resources on private property. In Brazil, the Brazilian Forestry Code determines specific areas to maintain with natural vegetation cover, known as areas of permanent preservation (APP). Currently, there are few studies that relate topographic variables on APP. In this context, we sought to evaluate the influence of relief on the conservation of areas of permanent preservation (APP) in the areas surrounding Caparaó National Park, Brazil. By using the chi-squared statistical test, we verified that the presence of forest cover is closely associated with altitude. The classes of APP in better conservation status are slopes in addition to hilltops and mountains, whereas APP streams and springs are among the areas most affected by human activities. The most deforested areas are located at altitudes below 1100.00 m and on slopes less than 45°. All orientations of the sides were significant for APP conservation status, with the southern, southeastern, and southwestern sides showing the lower degrees of impact. The methodology can be adjusted to environmental legislation to other countries.

GIS applied to location of fires detection towers in domain area of tropical forest

In most countries, the loss of biodiversity caused by the fires is worrying. In this sense, the fires detection towers are crucial for rapid identification of fire outbreaks and can also be used in environmental inspection, biodiversity monitoring, telecommunications mechanisms, telemetry and others. Currently the methodologies for allocating fire detection towers over large areas are numerous, complex and non-standardized by government supervisory agencies. Therefore, this study proposes and evaluates different methodologies to best location of points to install fire detection towers considering the topography, risk areas, conservation units and heat spots. Were used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques and unaligned stratified systematic sampling for implementing and evaluating 9 methods for allocating fire detection towers. Among the methods evaluated, the C3 method was chosen, represented by 140 fire detection towers, with coverage of: a) 67% of the study area, b) 73.97% of the areas with high risk, c) 70.41% of the areas with very high risk, d) 70.42% of the conservation units and e) 84.95% of the heat spots in 2014. The proposed methodology can be adapted to areas of other countries.