Dinâmica do desflorestamento e uso das terras na região dos formadores do rio Xingu.

Because of the occupation occurred in the last thirty years at Xingu river basin, this region has been suffering a large deforestation pressure, especially on its headwaters areas. This study aims to apply GIS techniques to evaluate how land use change has influenced the deforestation dynamics of Xingu water basin in Mato Grosso State. For that, a GIS based study was carried out were the deforestation data for the period between 2000 and 2005 was spatially integrated with settlement areas, indigenous lands, sites of mineral deposits and prospect areas. From this spatially integration, it was possible to analyze statistically how the deforestation has manifested on each kind of occupation, considering the original forest area. The techniques used, including inventory and database organization on GIS environment, and spatial analysis tools made it possible to analyze the deforestation in the Xingu basin in Mato Grosso State between the period of 2000 and 2005, and identify the most affected areas, considering different land uses.

Método de elaboração de mapas dos cenários climáticos futuros para o Brasil.

Human activities are altering greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and causing global climate change. The issue of impacts of human-induced climate change has become increasingly important in recent years. The objective of this work was to develop a database of climate information of the future scenarios using a Geographic Information System (GIS) tools. Future scenarios focused on the decades of the 2020?s, 2050?s, and 2080?s (scenarios A2 and B2) were obtained from the General Circulation Models (GCM) available on Data Distribution Centre from the Third Assessment Report (TAR) of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The TAR is compounded by six GCM with different spatial resolutions (ECHAM4:2.8125×2.8125º, HadCM3: 3.75×2.5º, CGCM2: 3.75×3.75º, CSIROMk2b: 5.625×3.214º, and CCSR/NIES: 5.625×5.625º). The mean monthly of the climate variables was obtained by the average from the available models using the GIS spatial analysis tools (arithmetic operation). Maps of mean monthly variables of mean temperature, minimum temperature, maximum temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, and solar radiation were elaborated adopting the spatial resolution of 0.5° X 0.5° latitude and longitude. The method of elaborating maps using GIS tools allowed to evaluate the spatial and distribution of future climate assessments. Nowadays, this database is being used in studies of impacts of climate change on plant disease of Embrapa projects.

Feasibility assessment of sugarcane expansion in southwest Goiás, Brazil based on the GIS technology.

The current study approaches the sugarcane culture expansion in Southwestern Goiás, especially in Mineiros, Quirinópolis and Rio Verde counties, which represent different times and responses to this process. The current logistics structure and future prospects for sugarcane and its derivatives transportation are studied at national level with emphasis to the aforementioned micro-region. Maps showing land use and land cover in three different years were generated from Landsat TM-5 satellite images and they were used to analyze the dynamics of changes in land use and in land cover. The region is marked by strong and rapid growth in the agricultural sector and its sugar-energy industry has been expanding in recent years, although with different aspects among its counties. Since it is a promising region in this sector, due to the favorable soil and weather conditions to the crop, the region requires more investment and planning in logistics to ensure production flow and to make it stronger within domestic and foreign markets.