Fire, vegetation and atmosphere inter-relationships: understanding the fire regimes in the Amazon and in the Cerrado

Organização: CEF/CEABN

Data: 2 de maio :: 12h30 às 13h30

Local: Sala PF 1.6 (Auditório Florestal) 

Tema: "Fire, vegetation and atmosphere inter-relationships: understanding the fire regimes in the Amazon and in the Cerrado using remote sensing"

Orador: Renata Libonati, professora da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. 

Abstract:

There is an increasing concern about the loss of forest cover and ecosystem services due to fire occurrence in the Amazon and in the Brazilian savanna (Cerrado). The Amazon forest is classified as vulnerable to fire, while Cerrado has high fire incidence and high levels of biodiversity. Agriculture and cattle expansion coupled with climate change have been reported as the primary agents increasing fire occurrence in both regions. Such interactions among anthropogenic pressures, climatic changes and forest responses present potential positive feedbacks that may increase forest degradation and loss. There is still a lack of knowledge on the patterns of fire incidence and vegetation recovery. Hence, it is important to allow resources for innovative ideas for vegetation monitoring and environmental policies. Spaceborne remote sensing data provide baseline information for all actors involved in the fire management process. Moreover, any attempt to characterize and mitigate the climatic and environmental impacts from vegetation fires require an understanding of the relationships between fire and vegetation, namely the vegetation susceptibility to fire, as well as between fire and atmospheric circulation, both in terms of weather patterns and extremes. However, disentangling the roles played by the land cover changes and the atmosphere dynamics on fire regimes is a very complex task. Building on the environmental significance and scientific challenges described above, this project aims at improving the scientific and technical knowledge regarding vegetation fires in the Cerrado and in the rain forest. Cutting-edge methodologies will be developed, specifically in what concerns i) assessing the major characteristics of fire regime based on remotely sensing datasets, and ii) exploring meteorological and environmental data in order to identify and quantify fire-vegetation interactions regarding climatic, ecological and human drivers.

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