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Impact of land-cover change in the Southern Amazonia climate: a case study for the region of Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil

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Abstract

The transformation of forest into pastures in the Brazilian Amazon leads to significant consequences to climate at local scale. In the region of Alta Floresta (Mato Grosso, Brazil), deforestation has been intense with over half the forests being cut since 1970. This article first examines the evolution of precipitation observed in this region and shows a significant trend in the decrease in total precipitation especially at the end of the dry season and at the beginning of the rainy season. The study then compares the temperatures measured in cleared and forested sectors within a reserve in the area of Alta Floresta (Mato Grosso, Brazil) between 2006 and 2007. The cleared sector was always hotter and drier (from 5% to 10%) than the forested area. This difference was not only especially marked during the day when it reached on average 2°C but also seemed to increase during the night with the onset of the dry season (+0.5°C). The Urban Heat Island effect is also evident especially during the night and in the dry season.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire COSTEL, UMR6554 LETG du CNRS, Université Rennes 2, Place du Recteur Henri le Moal, 35043, Rennes Cedex, France

    Vincent Dubreuil, Beatriz Funatsu & Vincent Nédélec

  2. Center for Sustainable Development, Universidade de Brasilia, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro - Gleba A, Bloco C - Av. L3 Norte, CEP: 70.904-970, Asa Norte - Brasília-DF, Brazil

    Nathan Debortoli

  3. Unité Espace S140, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Représentation de l’IRD au Brésil CP 7091 - Lago Sul, 71619 - 971, BRASILIA (DF), Brazil

    Laurent Durieux

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  1. Vincent Dubreuil
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  2. Nathan Debortoli
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  3. Beatriz Funatsu
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  4. Vincent Nédélec
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  5. Laurent Durieux
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Correspondence to Vincent Dubreuil.

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Dubreuil, V., Debortoli, N., Funatsu, B. et al. Impact of land-cover change in the Southern Amazonia climate: a case study for the region of Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Environ Monit Assess 184, 877–891 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2006-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2006-x

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