Abstract
Abstract The Tapajós National Forest (Flona Tapajós) has been providing important ecosystem services to society since the creation of this Conservation Unit in the Amazon. This study analyzed two climatic series from Belterra to identify possible effects on the thermal regime in the municipality as a function of the proximity of the Flona Tapajós and the consolidated grain production center in western Pará. Two climatological normal datasets from the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) were analyzed (1961-1990 and 1981-2010). Analysis of variance was used to compare averages, extremes (minimums and maximums), and thermal amplitudes. Average temperature was 24.6 °C in the first semester (1961-1990) and 25.2 °C (1981-2010), with maximums of 29.4 °C and 29.9 °C, and minimums of 20.6 and 21.2 °C, respectively. There were no statistical differences in these comparisons. In the second semester the averages increased to 25.2 °C and 26.0 °C, and were statistically different, with maximums of 31.2 °C and 31.6 °C and minimums of 20.4 °C and 21.2 °C, indicating different thermal regimes during 1981-2010. Additionally, from October to December the nights were warmer. The Flona Tapajós may have experienced a reduction in provision of ecosystem services, and the increase in minimum temperatures could be associated with grain production activities in the region.
Highlights
Public policies that are implemented to organize agricultural production processes in the Brazilian Amazon must take into consideration biophysical and climatic variables, principally those that are related to thermal and hydrological conditions in the region (Marengo and Espinoza, 2015)
Climatology describes the average state of the atmosphere, and in the Amazon high temperatures and rainfall are mediated by processes ranging from the direct effects of solar radiation and heat attenuation by cloud cover, to factors that are influenced by different scales of space and time (Marengo; Nobre, 2009, Reboita et al, 2010, Marengo and Espinoza, 2015)
Data were taken from a conventional meteorological station (Latitude: 02°38’11” S, Longitude: 54°56’14” W and Altitude: 152 m), collected by the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) at this station which has been in operation for over 50 years in this region
Summary
Public policies that are implemented to organize agricultural production processes in the Brazilian Amazon must take into consideration biophysical and climatic variables, principally those that are related to thermal and hydrological conditions in the region (Marengo and Espinoza, 2015). Climatology describes the average state of the atmosphere, and in the Amazon high temperatures and rainfall are mediated by processes ranging from the direct effects of solar radiation and heat attenuation by cloud cover, to factors that are influenced by different scales of space and time (Marengo; Nobre, 2009, Reboita et al, 2010, Marengo and Espinoza, 2015). Moraes et al (2020) related that the rainy season begins during the monthly quarter from December to February (DJF) in the Amazon. This quarter is modulated by the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and is associated with the effects of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) and the Bolivian High (Jahfer et al, 2020). The ITCZ acts to maintain or reduce the large belt of humidity in the region (Loureiro et al, 2014, Drumond et al, 2014), and beginning in the month of August there is a reduction in rainfall, including in areas that are prone to water stress (Martorano et al, 2017), indicating a reduction in soil water stocks
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