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Mudanças climáticas afetam o ciclo hidrológico e influenciam significativamente o uso dos recursos hídricos. O grande número de eventos extremos e a extensão prolongada no espaço e no tempo destes são indicativos de que as mudanças climáticas estão se intensificando nas últimas décadas. Eventos de inundações e secas estão sendo registrados periodicamente, e eventos em que uma seca ocorre após uma inundação ou uma inundação ocorre após uma seca prolongada têm sido mais frequentes. Logo, estudos considerando abordagens distintas sobre secas e inundações podem subestimar o risco de desastres se considerados independentemente. Este estudo investiga os impactos das mudanças climáticas nos eventos extremos de inundações e secas na bacia do Itajaí, considerando o uso de projeções regionais, teste de tendência e índices padronizados. A região do Vale do Itajaí, no estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil, é uma das regiões que se singulariza por desastres relacionados ao clima que causaram grandes perdas econômicas e sociais nos municípios que fazem parte da bacia, porém, nos últimos anos também vêm passando por períodos de estiagens que afetaram a região. Suas atividades econômicas concentram-se no setor agropecuário, o que torna a região suscetível aos impactos de desastres associados, principalmente, aos extremos hidrológicos. O método de avaliação incluiu o cálculo das tendências pelo teste de Mann-Kendall e o estimador de Sens e os índices SPI (Índice Padronizado de Precipitação) e SSFI (Índice Padronizado de Vazão) para o período atual de 1989 a 2020 (32 anos) e para cenários futuros de mudanças climáticas. Foram utilizados dois modelos climáticos globais, HadGEM2-ES e MIROC5, com downscaling pelo Modelo Regional Eta, com 20 km de resolução, para os períodos 2011-2040, 2041-2070 e 2071-2099. Essas projeções adotaram dois cenários de emissão, o RCP 4.5 e o RCP 8.5. No teste de tendência para os dois cenários de RCP 4,5 e 8,5 o ETA/HadGEM2-ES no geral mostrou que a bacia do Itajaí no curto prazo está propícia a eventos mais frequentes de inundações, e no médio-prazo e longo-prazo os eventos de seca poderão ser mais frequentes. O modelo ETA/MIROC5 nos cenários de RCP 4,5 e 8,5, nos três períodos, indicou aumento da precipitação e do escoamento na bacia do Itajaí, ou seja, a região estaria mais propicia a frequência de eventos de inundações. Quando analisados os índices SPI e SSFI os dois modelos ETA/HadGEM2-ES e ET/MIROC5 e nos dois cenários de RCP 4,5 e 8,5 mostraram que nos três períodos, 2011-2040, 2041-2070 e 2071-2099, a bacia do Itajaí está propícia a eventos extremos de inundações e secas, comprovado pelos valores do SPI e SSFI acima de 2 e menor que -2, os quais indicam períodos extremamente úmidos e secos, respectivamente. Portanto, as mudanças projetadas para essa região podem desencadear a ocorrência de desastres relacionados a eventos extremos, associados a inundações e secas, e que podem aumentar a vulnerabilidade das pessoas que vivem em áreas de risco. Assim, é imprescindível considerar o clima futuro para a adoção de medidas de mitigação e adaptação aos impactos das mudanças climáticas, bem como para um melhor planejamento e gestão dos recursos hídricos na bacia do Itajaí.

Deforestation disrupts ecosystem services provided by forests at a regional scale, such as surface temperature regulation. This study evaluated how changes in land surface temperature (LST) from 2003 to 2021 across the Brazilian Amazon varied according to the rate of forest cover change and the amount of regional forest cover. To do so, we used LST data from MODIS, land cover data from MapBiomas, and divided the Amazon region into grid cells of 0.5° spatial resolution. We observed a gradual rise in the incidence and intensity of decadal LST warming as the rate of forest loss increased. The influence of deforestation on LST warming was remarkable in areas where the initial forest cover was greater than 40% and forest cover loss was greater than 0.5 percentage points per year on average. Our findings provide supporting information for forest restoration and conservation initiatives aiming for climate change adaptation.

The Amazon is the largest continuous tropical forest in the world and plays a key role in the global carbon cycle. Human-induced disturbances (e.g., deforestation and wildfires) in combination with climate change have impacted its carbon cycling. However, uncertainties remain on the magnitude of carbon fluxes associated with human-induced disturbances and the old-growth forest sink, and thus the net land carbon balance of the Amazon. Here we synthesize state-of-the-art estimates of the land carbon flux components in the Amazon. To quantify the human-disturbance fluxes from deforestation, land use and land cover changes and degradation, we use a set of bookkeeping models. The annual intact sink was quantified using a set of 16 Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs). We then combine the carbon flux estimates from disturbances with the intact sink estimates to provide a bottom-up estimate of the net land carbon flux and compare them alongside top-down estimates from atmospheric model inversions. Between 2010 and 2018, the net land carbon flux in the Brazilian Amazon estimated with the bottom-up approach was -59 (±160) Tg C yr-1 and +36 (±125) Tg C yr-1 with the top-down approach. Despite disagreeing on the sign of the flux, this analysis suggests that the Brazilian Amazon was on average near carbon neutral over the 2010-2018 period, given the large uncertainties underlying both methods. The net land carbon fluxes for the years 2019 and 2020 based on the bottom-up approach were larger than for 2010-2018. This is likely primarily due to direct emissions related to an increase in deforestation although it may possibly be partly caused by a weakening of the forest carbon sink, both in response to deforestation and a warming climate. Spatially, both methodologies agree that the south-eastern Amazon was a net carbon source over the whole study period. These results have important implications for the mitigation potential of Brazilian ecosystems within the goals of the Paris Agreement.

O Programa de Monitoramento da Amazônia e Demais Biomas (PMAZ+) abriga importantes sistemas de monitoramento e mapeamento de mudanças de cobertura da terra no Brasil. No entanto, as metodologias utilizadas e impactos dos resultados do programa ainda são desconhecidos do público geral. O presente artigo objetivou analisar o potencial de Gaia em Jogo como veículo de divulgação do PAMZ+ e também como ferramenta de reflexão dos impactos socioambientais decorrentes de mudanças de uso e cobertura da terra. Essa análise for feita por meio da revisão bibliográfica das publicações de ambos os projetos, partidas preliminares e abstração ad hoc de possíveis situações relacionadas aos temas do PAMZ+ e seus impactos no sistema terrestre. Conclui-se que diversos temas explorados no contexto do PAMZ+ se enquadram na estrutura atual de Gaia em Jogo e podem ser divulgados por meio de um baralho complementar.

A pandemia de COVID-19 acentuou vulnerabilidades em comunidades tradicionais na América Latina. Junto com os desafios que a própria doença instaurou, essas comunidades estão expostas à múltiplas ameaças socioeconômicas e ambientais, que se cruzam e moldam os caminhos de recuperação traçado por cada uma. O projeto Vozes em Recuperação se concentra em compreender e apoiar os caminhos de recuperação de comunidades marginalizadas no Brasil, Colômbia e Peru. Este trabalho é uma primeira iniciativa para identificar ameaças ambientais que acometem cada sítio de estudo escolhido. Foram identificadas múltiplas ameaças ambientais, como mudanças climáticas e incêndios florestais. O processo de tomada de decisão em torno da recuperação sustentável dessas comunidades pode ser mais eficaz, uma vez que essas ameaças e vulnerabilidades sejam diagnosticadas e melhor compreendidas.

The Amazon is the largest rainforest on the planet and was an important carbon sink. The carbon sink is declining, mainly due to an increase in tree mortality as a result of deforestation, degradation, and local, regional and global climate change. In addition, deforestation and forest degradation reduce the ability of the Amazon rainforest to act as a carbon sink. CO2 Vertical Profiles (VP) were performed from 2010 to 2021 (805), using small aircraft at 4 locations: SAN (2.86° S 54.95° W), ALF (8.80° S 56.75° W), RBA (9.38° S 67.62° W) and from 2010 to 2012 on TAB (5.96° S 70.06° W) and since 2013 at TEF (3.39° S 65.55° W). The question if Amazonia is a carbon source or sink is an important role in the global carbon budget. Amazonia vertical profile annual mean derived from CO2 annual mean vertical profiles (VP subtracted from the background concentration: ∆VP) from the 4 studied sites can help to clarify this important question. The sampling frequency was approximately 2 times per month in each location, from 4.4 km height (a.s.l.) until near surface 300 m (a.s.l.), and usually carried out between 12:00 and 13:00 local time. The CO2 samples were analyzed at INPE’s LaGEE (Greenhouse Gas Laboratory), in São Jose dos Campos. This result is a direct indication of the regional source in the global carbon budget, indeed there are well-known discrepancies from many studies using different methodologies (bottom-up, top-down techniques, and a wide variety of global, regional, and inversion models). In this study, we will present Carbon flux from the time series for the 4 sites and Amazon Carbon balance using the column budget technique, and analyze the correlations with various parameters related to climate, vegetation, deforestation, and biomass burning.

Global air temperature increase has caused changes in the global climate such as droughts, floods and severe events. Land cover shifts and the increase in greenhouse gas emissions can intensify these impacts. Therefore, the application of Specific Warming Level 2 (SWL2) technique has been considered to evaluate the global warming issue in various climate scales, which may induce different responses in the climate system. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impacts of a doubling of current atmospheric CO2 concentrations as well as the influence of deforestation of the Amazon Forest on the climate of South America. In this study, the CPTEC-BAM1.2 global model was used to simulate these processes. The first scenario of simulations considered doubled atmospheric CO2 concentration (2XCO2 = 776 ppm) and the second scenario is the total conversion of the Amazon Forest to pasture (DEF). In the third scenario both CO2 and deforestation are considered simultaneously (2XCO2 + DEF). A control simulation considers the natural Amazon Forest shape and a steady CO2 concentration of 388 ppm. Results suggest that the temperature increased in all scenarios, the highest increment in the 2XCO2 + DEF experiment (5.4°C in 2XCO2 + DEF, 5.1°C in DEF and 3.2°C in 2XCO2). The model simulated drastic negative rainfall anomalies in each of three scenarios (2XCO2 + DEF: −2.1 mm day−1, 2XCO2: −1.3 mm day−1 and DEF: −0.9 mm day−1). Besides less precipitation and evapotranspiration, shifts in moisture transport were identified in each of the three scenarios. The effect of doubled atmospheric CO2 produces results similar to deforestation for hydrological water budget changes, and total pasture conversion may intensify such changes.

Over 150 species of earthworms are known from the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest, but many more are expected to live in this megadiverse biome. In the present study, we evaluated earthworm species occurrence and diversity in native and reforested areas in four National Forests in three Brazilian states: Três Barras National Forest (Santa Catarina), Irati and Piraí do Sul National Forests (Paraná) and Capão Bonito National Forest (São Paulo) using formalin and hand sorting methods. A total of 13 species were found, five exotic and eight natives (of which four were new, undescribed species), belonging to six genera and five families (Rhinodrilidae, Glossoscolecidae, Ocnerodrilidae, Benhamiidae, Megascolecidae). In general, higher number of earthworms were collected in Araucaria plantations, except in Capão Bonito where Pinus sp. plantations had higher abundance. Hand sorting also collected more species in all forests, so this should be the preferred sampling method to evaluate earthworm communities. Formalin extraction was efficient only for epi-endogeic earthworms, most of them exotic species. Exotic pine species plantations tend to reduce species richness and abundance, compared with native forests and Araucaria plantations, and substitution of native vegetation for pine plantations should consider potential negative effects on soil animal populations.

Integrated agricultural systems have been greatly expanding in Brazil and currently cover over 30 million hectares. Although these land use systems help soil and environmental quality, little is known of their impacts on earthworm communities. In the present study we evaluated earthworm abundance, biomass and species richness in various integrated and conventional agricultural production systems (pasture, crops), as well as native forest and Eucalyptus plantations. The research was carried out at Fazenda Canchim (Embrapa Livestock Southeast) and at the neighboring campus of the University de São Carlos (UFSCar), in São Carlos municipality in São Paulo state, Brazil. Two earthworm sampling methods, i.e., quantitative (25 x 25 x 20 cm deep monoliths) and qualitative (holes of similar size and niche sampling), were used in three integrated production systems, three conventional systems and two forest systems, totaling 232 quantitative samples and over 160 qualitative samples. Earthworms were counted and identified using available keys. Eight earthworm species of five families (Rhinodrilidae, Ocnerodrilidae, Megascolecidae, Benhamiidae and Glossoscolecidae) were found, with most of the 2,145 individuals being exotic or peregrine species, particularly Pontoscolex corethrurus (88% of total) and various Dichogaster spp. (8% of total). Two native species were encountered in low abundance (55 individuals), both of which are new to science (Fimoscolex n.sp.7 and Glossoscolex n.sp.9) and must still be formally described. The new species were found in the agricultural systems, but not in the native forest and the Eucalyptus plantation, where P. corethrurus and Megascolecids predominated. One unidentified Ocnerodrilid sp. was found only in the intensive pasture. Species richness was highest in the intensive pasture (7 spp.), followed by the agrosilvopastoral and agropastoral systems, highlighting the importance of integrated and pastoral systems in preserving earthworm richness and native species.

Understanding the cost-effectiveness of restoration initiatives is critical for their successful implementation. In this context, this study presents a new approach to investigating the cost-effectiveness of different forest landscape restoration strategies for achieving multiple restoration goals. The approach is based on an optimization model that allocates forest restoration to maximize three environmental benefits (biodiversity conservation, carbon stock increase, and soil loss reduction) while minimizing the cost. We explore scenarios based on the Brazilian Forest Code and the National Policy for Payment for Ecosystem Services. Our optimization approach simultaneously achieves high levels of multiple environmental benefits – more than 90% of the maximum possible biodiversity, carbon, and soil in a cost-effective manner for all scenarios. Variation among the scenarios in the absolute performance concerning the three objectives was small (within 2.5%) compared to variation in costs (up to 19.4%). These results reinforce the importance of quantifying trade-offs among objectives to a better understanding of the cost-effectiveness of restoration initiatives before their implementation.

The Amazon is one of the most important tropical forests in the world because it is a key in the regulation of the global climate. It is the world’s largest rainforest, where interactions between the forest and the atmosphere are fundamental to rainfall throughout South America and have an indirect effect on all the regions around the world. Furthermore, the Amazon region may be a source of aerosol that will act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). During the rainy season over the Amazon region, in which intense convective activity associated with the South America Monsoon System (SAMS) prevents fires, the primary sources of aerosols include biogenic emissions, dust from the Sahara Desert, and emissions from burning biomass transported from Africa. Besides that, the downward transport of aerosols from the upper troposphere (UT) has been considered a source of particles to the lower troposphere. The particles in the UT over the tropics region have been one of the largest aerosol reservoirs in the atmosphere, which could be from primary aerosols, such as dust, organic carbon and black carbon or secondary aerosol formed by trace gases in the free troposphere. The existence of an aerosol layer at the tropopause level has been observed during June, July, and August in Asia and North America (Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer – ATAL and North American Tropopause Aerosol Layer – NATAL, respectively) associated with the deep convection of the Monsoons System. Therefore, the aerosol enhancement in the UT and lower stratosphere (LS) and the formation of an aerosol layer over the Amazon region associated with the deep convection of the SAMS during the austral summer are investigated. In the past, field campaigns over South America (SA) (GoAmazon2014/5 experiment) showed aerosol enhancement in the UT. They suggested that new aerosol particles are formed in the UT from biogenic volatile organic material that goes up by upward transport associated with the deep convection. The enhancement of aerosol backscatter values over SA is observed from October to January; it gradually decreases during the following months. The aerosol backscatter inferred from MERRA-2 Reanalysis showed a maximum value of the 2.24×10-5 km-2sr-1 over the Amazon during November and December. The results showed the first evidence of the existence of the South American Tropopause Aerosol Layer (SATAL) that covers the tropical SA and vertically extends up to 80hPa (approximately 18 km), similar to ATAL, and NATAL. The aerosol backscatter inferred from MERRA-2 reanalysis was validated using the attenuated backscatter by CALIOP from CALIPSO satellite. However, field campaigns such as the CAFE-BRAZIL campaign (Chemistry of the Atmosphere: Field Experiment in Brazil), which will be during December/2022 and January/2023 using the HALO (High Altitude Long Range Aircraft) aircraft, are necessary to study the formation of SATAL.