Remote sensing applications for modeling human impacts on the ecological properties of wetland and aquatic environments in the Solimões/Amazon floodplain

• Grant number: 11/23594-8
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: April 01, 2012 - November 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Physical Geography
• Principal researcher: Evlyn Márcia Leão de Moraes Novo
• Grantee: Evlyn Márcia Leão de Moraes Novo
• Home Institution: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovações (Brasil). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil
• Assoc. researchers: Camilo Daleles Rennó ; Chieno Suemitsu ; Cláudio Clemente Faria Barbosa ; Fabio Marques Aprile ; João Sarkis Yunes ; Maria de Lourdes Bueno Trindade Galo ; Nilton Nobuhiro Imai

Abstract

The Amazon floodplain is characterized by extreme natural fluctuation in the water level of its rivers with an alternation between excess and lack of water known as "flood pulse", sensu Junk (1989). The flood pulse is the principal ecological driving force acting in the floodplain ecosystem; it is largely responsible for the behavior of biogeochemical cycles and demands specific adaptations of the regional biota (Adis e Junk, 2002; Simone et al., 2003; Parolin 2010; Piedade 1997; Arraut 2008). The floodplain aquatic systems are relatively little known and studied when compared to the Amazon terrestrial ecosystems. Estimations made by Sippel et al. (1992) indicate the existence of more than 10 000 lakes with an area larger than one hectare (1 ha), of which less than 1% have been properly investigated. Recent forecasts about the effects of climate change in the Amazon region suggest an increase in the temperature and in the frequency and intensity of extreme events (droughts and floods), with a range of consequences for the local biota and biogeochemistry (Foley et al. 2002; Pachauri, 2007; Malhi et al., 2008; Marengo et al., 2011; Toomey et al., 2011). This proposal is based on the previous efforts of the team (FAPESP - 2002/00785-3, 2003/00785-3, 2004/1406-5, 2007/07867-9, 2008/07537-1; CNPq - 477885/2007-1, 304929/2007-7, 550373/2010-1; and GEOMA Thematic Network) and aims to conduct an integrated study of the various ecosystem components of the Amazon floodplain, at multiple scales, considering the current and future combined effects of the environmental changes caused by global climate change and human activities in the Amazon floodplain. This integration will be achieved from four main research lines in which the group has worked in the last decade: 1 - Expansion of knowledge about the impacts of human presence and use of wetland ecosystems on the Amazon floodplain; 2 - Expansion of knowledge about the impact of natural factors and global climate change on the functioning of the floodplain environment; 3 - Evaluation of potential interactions and possible synergistic effects between climate change and anthropogenic increase; 4 - Generation of knowledge and strategic human resources needed for the implementation and future integration of data from the new generation of orbital spectroscopic imagers, scheduled to be launched by the end of this decade. To do so, the project team plans to continue working in two study areas covered by the FAPESP Project 2008/07537-1: a preserved wetland and a wetland heavily impacted by human activities. The preserved area is formed by the RDSM floodplain, which has been the subject of two PhD theses (Arraut, 2008; Affonso, 2011) where the integration of remote sensing and in situ data was essential for the understanding of Manatee migration processes (Arraut et al., 2010) and the study of the relationship between the characteristics of the floodplain habitats and the abundance of pirarucu (Affonso, 2011). The most impacted area is represented by the Curuai Lake, which, according to Reno and Novo (2008), Reno et al. (2011), has undergone an intense deforestation process between the late 1970's and 2008 due to jute cultivation and livestock on the floodplain. (AU)

Scientific publications

(15)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

RENO, VIVIAN; NOVO, EVLYN. Forest depletion gradient along the Amazon floodplain. ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS, v. 98, p. 409-419, MAR 2019. Web of Science Citations: 0.

AUGUSTO-SILVA, PETALA BIANCHI; MACINTYRE, SALLY; RUDORFF, CONRADO DE MORAES; CORTES, ALICIA; MELACK, JOHN MICHAEL. Stratification and mixing in large floodplain lakes along the lower Amazon River. JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH, v. 45, n. 1, p. 61-72, FEB 2019. Web of Science Citations: 5.

PEREIRA, LUCIANA O.; FURTADO, LUIZ F. A.; NOVO, EVLYN M. L. M.; SANT'ANNA, SIDNEI J. S.; LIESENBERG, VERALDO; SILVA, THIAGO S. F. Multifrequency and Full-Polarimetric SAR Assessment for Estimating Above Ground Biomass and Leaf Area Index in the Amazon Varzea Wetlands. REMOTE SENSING, v. 10, n. 9 SEP 2018. Web of Science Citations: 3.

LOBO, FELIPE DE LUCIA; COSTA, MAYCIRA; LEAO DE MORAES NOVO, EVLYN MARCIA; TELMER, KEVIN. Effects of Small-Scale Gold Mining Tailings on the Underwater Light Field in the Tapajos River Basin, Brazilian Amazon. REMOTE SENSING, v. 9, n. 8 AUG 2017. Web of Science Citations: 4.

WEYHENMEYER, GESA A.; MACKAY, MURRAY; STOCKWELL, JASON D.; THIERY, WIM; GROSSART, HANS-PETER; AUGUSTO-SILVA, PETALA B.; BAULCH, HELEN M.; DE EYTO, ELVIRA; HEJZLAR, JOSEF; KANGUR, KUELLI; KIRILLIN, GEORGIY; PIERSON, DON C.; RUSAK, JAMES A.; SADRO, STEVEN; WOOLWAY, R. IESTYN. Citizen science shows systematic changes in the temperature difference between air and inland waters with global warming. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 7, MAR 6 2017. Web of Science Citations: 10.

RENO, VIVIAN; NOVO, EVLYN; ESCADA, MARIA. Forest Fragmentation in the Lower Amazon Floodplain: Implications for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Provision to Riverine Populations. REMOTE SENSING, v. 8, n. 11 NOV 2016. Web of Science Citations: 5.

LOBO, FELIPE DE LUCIA; COSTA, MAYCIRA; LEAO DE MORAES NOVO, EVLYN MARCIA; TELMER, KEVIN. Distribution of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in the Tapajos River Basin (Brazilian Amazon) over the Past 40 Years and Relationship with Water Siltation. REMOTE SENSING, v. 8, n. 7 JUL 2016. Web of Science Citations: 15.

DE ALMEIDA FURTADO, LUIZ FELIPE; FREIRE SILVA, THIAGO SANNA; LEDO DE MORAES NOVO, EVLYN MARCIA. Dual-season and full-polarimetric C band SAR assessment for vegetation mapping in the Amazon varzea wetlands. REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT, v. 174, p. 212-222, MAR 1 2016. Web of Science Citations: 26.

KUTSER, TIIT; PASCUAL, GEMA CASAL; BARBOSA, CLAUDIO; PAAVEL, BIRGOT; FERREIRA, RENATO; CARVALHO, LINO; TOMING, KAIRE. Mapping inland water carbon content with Landsat 8 data. International Journal of Remote Sensing, v. 37, n. 13, p. 2950-2961, 2016. Web of Science Citations: 8.

DE ALMEIDA FURTADO, LUIZ FELIPE; FREIRE SILVA, THIAGO SANNA; FARIAS FERNANDES, PEDRO JOSE; LEDO DE MORAES NOVO, EVLYN MARCIA. Land cover classification of Lago Grande de Curuai floodplain (Amazon, Brazil) using multi-sensor and image fusion techniques. Acta Amazonica, v. 45, n. 2, p. 195-202, JUN 2015. Web of Science Citations: 10.

LOBO, FELIPE L.; COSTA, MAYCIRA P. F.; NOVO, EVLYN M. L. M. Time-series analysis of Landsat-MSS/TM/OLI images over Amazonian waters impacted by gold mining activities. REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT, v. 157, n. SI, p. 170-184, FEB 2015. Web of Science Citations: 42.

FRAGAL, EVERTON HAFEMANN; FREIRE SILVA, THIAGO SANNA; DE MORAES NOVO, EVLYN MARCIA LEAO. Reconstructing historical forest cover change in the Lower Amazon floodplains using the LandTrendr algorithm. Acta Amazonica, v. 46, n. 1, p. 13-24, JAN-MAR 2015. Web of Science Citations: 9.

MONTANHER, OTAVIO C.; NOVO, EVLYN M. L. M.; BARBOSA, CLAUDIO C. F.; RENNO, CAMILO D.; SILVA, THIAGO S. F. Empirical models for estimating the suspended sediment concentration in Amazonian white water rivers using Landsat 5/TM. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, v. 29, p. 67-77, JUN 2014. Web of Science Citations: 26.

RUDORFF, CONRADO M.; MELACK, JOHN M.; BATES, PAUL D. Flooding dynamics on the lower Amazon floodplain: 1. Hydraulic controls on water elevation, inundation extent, and river- floodplain discharge. WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH, v. 50, n. 1, p. 619-634, JAN 2014. Web of Science Citations: 36.

RUDORFF, CONRADO M.; MELACK, JOHN M.; BATES, PAUL D. Flooding dynamics on the lower Amazon floodplain: 2. Seasonal and interannual hydrological variability. WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH, v. 50, n. 1, p. 635-649, JAN 2014. Web of Science Citations: 26.