GIS applied to agriclimatological zoning and agrotoxin residue monitoring in tomatoes: A case study in Espírito Santo state, Brazil

Geotechnology Applied to Analysis of Vegetation Dynamics and Occurrence of Forest Fires on Indigenous Lands in Cerrado-Amazonia Ecotone

The Cerrado-Amazonia Ecotone is one of the largest ecosystems in Brazil and is internationally considered a biodiversity hotspot. The occurrence of fires is common in these areas, directly affecting biomass losses and the reduction of vegetative vigor of forest typologies. Information obtained through remote sensing and geoprocessing can assist in the evaluation of vegetation behavior and its relation to the occurrence of forest fires. In this context, the objective of the present study was to analyze temporal vegetation dynamics, as well as their relationship with rainfall and fire occurrence on Indigenous lands, located in the Cerrado-Amazonia Ecotone of Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images of the MOD13Q1 MODIS product and burnt area of the MCD45A1 MODIS product, and rainfall images from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) sensor were used. The period analyzed was from 2007 to 2016. After pre-processing the NDVI, TRMM and burnt area images, correlation analyses were performed between the rainfall, vegetation index and burnt area images, considering different lags (−3 to 3), to obtain the best response time for the variables. The analyses of inter-annual vegetation index trends were carried out following Mann–Kendall monotonic trend and seasonal trend analysis methodologies. Significant correlations were observed between NDVI and rainfall (R = 0.84), in grass regions and between NDVI and burnt area (R = −0.74). The Mann–Kendall monotonic trend indicates vegetation index stability with positive variations in grass regions. The analysis of seasonal trends identified different vegetation responses, with this biome presenting a diverse phytophysiognomy and seasonal vegetation with different phases for amplitudes. This variation is evidenced by the various phytophysiognomies and their responses in relation to biomass gains and losses. The correlation and regression of the NDVI and rainfall in the vegetation type of grass areas show that the burnt area tends to increase with the reduction of NDVI. Finally, no defined pattern of vegetation cycles or phases was observed in terms of seasonality and the proposed methodology can be adapted to other world biomes.

Potential Risk of Agrochemical Leaching in Areas of Edaphoclimatic Suitability for Coffee Cultivation

Studies show that agricultural activities around the world still present a strong dependence on agrochemicals that can leach into the soil profile, causing its contamination, as well as that of water resources. In this context, the present study evaluates the potential risk of pesticide leaching in areas of edaphoclimatic suitability for coffee cultivation in Espírito Santo state, Brazil. As a methodology, the areas of edaphoclimatic suitability for conilon and arabica coffee were defined, and subsequently, the risk of leaching of active agrochemical ingredients in these areas was evaluated using the Groundwater Ubiquity Score (GUS), Leaching Index (LIX) and Attenuation Factor/Retardation Factor (AF/RF) methods. Of the ten active ingredients evaluated, sulfentrazone and thiamethoxam present a potential risk of leaching into the groundwater level. The study allowed us to evaluate the potential risk of agrochemical leaching in tropical soils cultivated with coffee using geographic information system (GIS) techniques. The methodological proposal can be adapted for other agricultural areas and crops.

Thermal favorability for the Oidium caricae and Asperisporium caricae in areas of edaphoclimatic aptitude for the Carica papaya

Objective this study aimed to determine the thermal favorability for the oidium (Oidium caricae) and early blight (Asperisporium caricae) in areas of edaphoclimatic aptitude for the papaya (Carica papaya) in the Espírito Santo state, Brazil. The edaphoclimatic zoning was based on the overlapping of maps that characterize the average annual air temperature obtained by multiple linear regression, annual water deficiency calculated by the Thornthwaite and Matter method (1955) and favorable soil classes to the development of papaya. The results indicated that as regards the edaphoclimatic zoning for the papaya crop it was observed that 71.70% of the area is classified as apt for its development. In relation to agrometeorological favorability for the occurrence of fungal diseases, there was a favorability of 7.64% for the development without restrictions of the oidium and a predominance of 64,56% of favorability with thermal restriction. For the early blight fungus, it was observed that the zones of favorability without restriction correspond to 11.66% of the area apt for the papaya cultivation and that 55.13% of the area has favorability with restriction of humidity. The edaphoclimatic zoning for the papaya crop showed compatibility with the most productive areas of this crop in the state of Espírito Santo. The zoning of thermal favorability for the occurrence of papaya fungal diseases proved to be a valuable tool for studies of plant diseases, allowing the establishment of plans for the allocation of resistant varieties, in order to minimize the risks of loss of crop productivity due to the disease. This methodology presents potential to be used in other areas, cultures and phytopathological diseases.

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.