Sistema de Informações Geográficas aplicado ao diagnóstico do uso da terra da bacia hidrográfica do Córrego São Caetano - Botucatu (SP)

The study aimed to obtain the land use of the watershed Stream São Caetano - Botucatu (SP), through the satellite image. The cartographic databases were: planialtimetric letter in digital format (IBGE) used in georeferencing, and satellite image. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) -IDRISI Selva was use to perform the image georeferencing and to do the final thematic map. In the software CAD - CartaLinx, it was performed the delimitation of the area under study (boundary, drainage network and areas of use and coverage). The land use of the watershed showed that pasture was the class which occupied most of the area, with 34.51% (1117,94 ha), the remainder of the area was urban (692,19ha), forests (809,79ha), cultures (599,96ha) and a very small part of reforestation (19,53ha). The use of remote sensing and geoprocessing were very satisfactory in the present work. Technologies must be increasingly used in agricultural and environmental studies, because technological tools, such as Geographic Information System (GIS), present speed, efficiency, reliable results, helping in increasing sustainability

Geotecnologia aplicada no estudo e planejamento de ocupação e uso do solo em uma bacia hidrográfica para fins agrícolas e conservacionistas

The study aimed to obtain the land use of the watershed Ribeirão Santo Antonio - São Manuel (SP), through the thematic map of the satellite image. The cartographic databases were planialtimetric letter in digital format used in georeferencing and the satellite image. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) -IDRISI Andes 15.0 was use to perform the image georeferencing and to do the thematic map obtained from the visual interpretation the satellite image. The map of land use showed that the culture of sugar cane occupies most of the area (81.00%), when analyzing the satellite image. This result show us the predominance of agricultural occupation in the region. The thematic map obtained by the classification screen, using GIS, allowed the mapping of land use, generating data that will assist in future planning area recovery. The results of the study showed the efficiency, speed and reliability of the tools used, these being very useful for future projects.

Geoprocessamento aplicado na caracterização morfométrica da microbacia do Ribeirão Descalvado - Botucatu (SP)

The objective of this study was to evaluate geoprocessing to morphometrically characterize the Ribeirão Descalvado micro watershed – Botucatu, SP by the Geographic Information System (GIS) – Selva for preservation, rationalization of its use and environmental restoration. The micro watershed is 2,228.61 ha between the geographic coordinates: 22° 50' 05" to 22° 54' 26" latitude S and 48° 22' 29" to 48° 26' 36" longitude W Gr. The cartographic basis was the planialtimetric chart of Botucatu (SP), 1: 50000 scale (IBGE, 1969), used for extraction of level, hydrography and topography curves to determine morphometric indices. The results showed that low values of drainage density associated with the presence of permeable rocks facilitates ground water infiltration which decreases surface runoff, erosion risks and environmental degradation. The low value of the shape factor supported by the circularity index shows that the micro watershed is more elongated and at lower risk of more pronounced floods. The roughness coefficient environmental parameter classified the micro watershed for forest and reforestation.

Aplicação de análise multicriterial para determinação de áreas prioritárias à recomposição florestal

Using the Geographic Information System (GIS) and taking into account its capability to analyze spatial data, a database of updated spatial data from the sub-basin of the Descalvado stream, Botucatu, SP, was developed to provide an evaluation and diagnosis of the area concerning land use and the degradation processes therein. Through GIS, priority areas for forest recovery were defined by Multicriteria Evaluation and using the Ordered Weighted Average method. The latter allows the decision maker to define the area to be recovered, facing limitation of resources, among one of the proposed scenarios, or do it in stages. The study showed that there are accelerated erosion processes in the headwaters of the springs of water bodies; there is also fragmentation of native vegetation, especially in hillside areas, and little presence of native vegetation in riparian areas. The application of the multicriteria analysis using the Ordered Weighted Average was important as it systematized and discriminated scenarios of priority for forest recovery.

Caracterização de conflitos de uso do solo em apps na bacia hidrográfica do córrego barra seca (pederneiras/sp)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Geomática aplicada na caracterização conservacionista de uma bacia hidrográfica no município de São Manuel (SP)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Caracterização clínica epidemiológica e geográfica da hanseníase em município hiperendêmico do Brasil

Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva - FMB

River Size and Fish Assemblages in Southwestern South Dakota

We studied relations between river size, fish species diversity, and fish species composition along four major rivers in the Great Plains of southwestern South Dakota to assess patterns of species diversity and composition. We expected diversity to increase with river size and fish composition to change via species addition downstream. Previous surveys of 52 sampling stations provided fish assemblage data, and we used the Geographic Information System (GIS) to determine watershed area by station. Watershed area did not predict species richness or species diversity (Fisher's a), so species richness of 12 ± 3.5 SD species and Fisher's a of 2.3 ± 0.87 SD characterized species diversity in the study area. Cluster analysis of faunal similarity (Sorensen's Index) among the 52 sampling stations identified two geographically distinct faunal divisions, so species composition was variable within the study area, but changed via species replacements among faunas rather than species additions downstream. Nonnative species were a minor component of all faunas. Uniform species diversity may be a recent phenomenon caused by impacts of Missouri River dams on native large-river fishes and the unsuitability of rivers in the Great Plains for nonnative species. Variation in faunal composition may also be recent because it was affected by dams.

Using Genetics to Assess Differentiation Among Raccoons in an Area with Variable Rabies Status in Alabama

The western spread of raccoon rabies in Alabama has been slow and even appears to regress eastward periodically. While the disease has been present in the state for over 30 years, areas in northwest Alabama are devoid of raccoon rabies. This variation resulting in an enzootic area of raccoon rabies primarily in southeastern Alabama may be due to landscape features that hinder the movement of raccoons (i.e., gene flow) among different locations. We used 11 raccoon-specific microsatellite markers to obtain individual genotypes to examine gene flow among areas that were rabies free, enzootic with rabies, or had only sporadic reports of the disease. Samples from 70 individuals were collected from 5 sampling localities in 3 counties. The landscape feature data were collected from geographic information system (GIS) data. We inferred gene flow by estimating FST and by using Bayesian tests to identify genetic clusters. Estimates of pairwise FST indicated genetic differentiation and restricted gene flow between some sites, and an uneven distribution of genetic clusters was observed. Of the landscape features examined (i.e., land cover, elevation, slope, roads, and hydrology), only land cover had an association with genetic differentiation, suggesting this landscape variable may affect gene flow among raccoon populations and thus the spread of raccoon variant of rabies in Alabama.

Caracterização clínica epidemiológica e geográfica da hanseníase em município hiperendêmico do Brasil

Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva - FMB

Evolution of Body Elongation in Gymnophthalmid Lizards: Relationships with Climate

The evolution of elongated body shapes in vertebrates has intrigued biologists for decades and is particularly recurrent among squamates. Several aspects might explain how the environment influences the evolution of body elongation, but climate needs to be incorporated in this scenario to evaluate how it contributes to morphological evolution. Climatic parameters include temperature and precipitation, two variables that likely influence environmental characteristics, including soil texture and substrate coverage, which may define the selective pressures acting during the evolution of morphology. Due to development of geographic information system (GIS) techniques, these variables can now be included in evolutionary biology studies and were used in the present study to test for associations between variation in body shape and climate in the tropical lizard family Gymnophthalmidae. We first investigated how the morphological traits that define body shape are correlated in these lizards and then tested for associations between a descriptor of body elongation and climate. Our analyses revealed that the evolution of body elongation in Gymnophthalmidae involved concomitant changes in different morphological traits: trunk elongation was coupled with limb shortening and a reduction in body diameter, and the gradual variation along this axis was illustrated by less-elongated morphologies exhibiting shorter trunks and longer limbs. The variation identified in Gymnophthalmidae body shape was associated with climate, with the species from more arid environments usually being more elongated. Aridity is associated with high temperatures and low precipitation, which affect additional environmental features, including the habitat structure. This feature may influence the evolution of body shape because contrasting environments likely impose distinct demands for organismal performance in several activities, such as locomotion and thermoregulation. The present study establishes a connection between morphology and a broader natural component, climate, and introduces new questions about the spatial distribution of morphological variation among squamates.

Pollination services at risk: Bee habitats will decrease owing to climate change in Brazil

Native bees are important providers of pollination services, but there are cumulative evidences of their decline. Global changes such as habitat losses, invasions of exotic species and climate change have been suggested as the main causes of the decline of pollinators. In this study, the influence of climate change on the distribution of 10 species of Brazilian bees was estimated with species distribution modelling. We used Maxent algorithm (maximum entropy) and two different scenarios, an optimistic and a pessimistic, to the years 2050 and 2080. We also evaluated the percentage reduction of species habitat based on the future scenarios of climate change through Geographic Information System (GIS). Results showed that the total area of suitable habitats decreased for all species but one under the different future scenarios. The greatest reductions in habitat area were found for Melipona bicolor bicolor and Melipona scutellaris, which occur predominantly in areas related originally to Atlantic Moist Forest. The species analysed have been reported to be pollinators of some regional crops and the consequence of their decrease for these crops needs further clarification. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Análisis espacio-temporal de las praderas de Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Ascherson en la isla de Gran Canaria

Máster Oficial en Gestión Costera

Gestor web de recursos geoespaciales con tecnología Openlayers

[ES] El objetivo de este Trabajo Final de Grado (TFG) es la creación de un prototipo de aplicación web para la gestión de recursos geoespaciales. Esta propuesta surgió a partir de la necesidad de disponer de una herramienta que no tuviera que ser instalada en un dispositivo, sino servida por un servidor web, permitiendo su acceso desde cualquier parte y dispositivo. El resultado fue el Gestor Web de Recursos Geoespaciales con Tecnología OpenLayers, una aplicación que combina diversas herramientas (OpenLayers, GeoServer, PostgreSQL, jQuery…) – todas ellas basadas en Software Libre – para cumplir funcionalidades como la creación de primitivas vectoriales sobre un mapa, gestión y visualización de la información asociada, edición de estilos, modificación de coordenadas, etc. siendo todas éstas funcionalidades características de un Sistema de Información Geográfica (SIG) y ofreciendo una interfaz de uso cómoda y eficaz, que abstraiga al usuario de detalles internos y complejos. El material desarrollado dispone del potencial necesario para convertirse en una solución a las necesidades de gestión de información geoespacial de la ULPGC, especialmente en el campus de Tafira, sobre el que se ha ejemplificado su uso. Además, a diferencia de las herramientas ofertadas por empresas como Google o Microsoft, esta aplicación está por completo bajo una licencia GNU GPL v3, lo que permite que se pueda indagar dentro de su código, mejorarlo y añadir funcionalidades a cualquier persona interesada.

Soil biogenic emissions of nitric oxide from arid and semi-arid ecosystems

The biogenic production of NO in the soil accounts for between 10% and 40% of the global total. A large degree of the uncertainty in the estimation of the biogenic emissions stems from a shortage of measurements in arid regions, which comprise 40% of the earth’s land surface area. This study examined the emission of NO from three ecosystems in southern Africa which cover an aridity gradient from semi-arid savannas in South Africa to the hyper-arid Namib Desert in Namibia. A laboratory method was used to determine the release of NO as a function of the soil moisture and the soil temperature. Various methods were used to up-scale the net potential NO emissions determined in the laboratory to the vegetation patch, landscape or regional level. The importance of landscape, vegetation and climatic characteristics is emphasized. The first study occurred in a semi-arid savanna region in South Africa, where soils were sampled from 4 landscape positions in the Kruger National Park. The maximum NO emission occurred at soil moisture contents of 10%-20% water filled pore space (WFPS). The highest net potential NO emissions came from the low lying landscape positions, which have the largest nitrogen (N) stocks and the largest input of N. Net potential NO fluxes obtained in the laboratory were converted in field fluxes for the period 2003-2005, for the four landscape positions, using soil moisture and temperature data obtained in situ at the Kruger National Park Flux Tower Site. The NO emissions ranged from 1.5-8.5 kg ha-1 a-1. The field fluxes were up-scaled to a regional basis using geographic information system (GIS) based techniques, this indicated that the highest NO emissions occurred from the Midslope positions due to their large geographical extent in the research area. Total emissions ranged from 20x103 kg in 2004 to 34x103 kg in 2003 for the 56000 ha Skukuza land type. The second study occurred in an arid savanna ecosystem in the Kalahari, Botswana. In this study I collected soils from four differing vegetation patch types including: Pan, Annual Grassland, Perennial Grassland and Bush Encroached patches. The maximum net potential NO fluxes ranged from 0.27 ng m-2 s-1 in the Pan patches to 2.95 ng m-2 s-1 in the Perennial Grassland patches. The net potential NO emissions were up-scaled for the year December 2005-November 2006. This was done using 1) the net potential NO emissions determined in the laboratory, 2) the vegetation patch distribution obtained from LANDSAT NDVI measurements 3) estimated soil moisture contents obtained from ENVISAT ASAR measurements and 4) soil surface temperature measurements using MODIS 8 day land surface temperature measurements. This up-scaling procedure gave NO fluxes which ranged from 1.8 g ha-1 month-1 in the winter months (June and July) to 323 g ha-1 month-1 in the summer months (January-March). Differences occurred between the vegetation patches where the highest NO fluxes occurred in the Perennial Grassland patches and the lowest in the Pan patches. Over the course of the year the mean up-scaled NO emission for the studied region was 0.54 kg ha-1 a-1 and accounts for a loss of approximately 7.4% of the estimated N input to the region. The third study occurred in the hyper-arid Namib Desert in Namibia. Soils were sampled from three ecosystems; Dunes, Gravel Plains and the Riparian zone of the Kuiseb River. The net potential NO flux measured in the laboratory was used to estimate the NO flux for the Namib Desert for 2006 using modelled soil moisture and temperature data from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational model on a 36km x 35km spatial resolution. The maximum net potential NO production occurred at low soil moisture contents (<10%WFPS) and the optimal temperature was 25°C in the Dune and Riparian ecosystems and 35°C in the Gravel Plain Ecosystems. The maximum net potential NO fluxes ranged from 3.0 ng m-2 s-1 in the Riparian ecosystem to 6.2 ng m-2 s-1 in the Gravel Plains ecosystem. Up-scaling the net potential NO flux gave NO fluxes of up to 0.062 kg ha-1 a-1 in the Dune ecosystem and 0.544 kg h-1 a-1 in the Gravel Plain ecosystem. From these studies it is shown that NO is emitted ubiquitously from terrestrial ecosystems, as such the NO emission potential from deserts and scrublands should be taken into account in the global NO models. The emission of NO is influenced by various factors such as landscape, vegetation and climate. This study looks at the potential emissions from certain arid and semi-arid environments in southern Africa and other parts of the world and discusses some of the important factors controlling the emission of NO from the soil.