Fire Occurrences in the Cerrado Biome: an Integrated Analysis of Remote Sensing Products in São Paulo State, Brazil

• Grant number: 25/02610-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Physical Geography
• Principal Investigator: Vandoir Bourscheidt
• Grantee: Mateus Henrique Fulan
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project aims to analyze fire occurrences in the Cerrado biome using remote sensing data (FIRMS, MODIS, VIIRS, and Sentinel-5P) to identify spatial and temporal patterns, quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and assess vegetation impacts through NDVI, EVI and LAI indices, as well as the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) and its products (dNBR, RdNBR). By using scripts developed inside the Google Earth Engine platform, the study aims to quantify GHG emissions (CH¿, CO, NO¿, formaldehyde) and aerosols during fire events, and to evaluate post-fire vegetation recovery, by overlaying images with fire outbreaks/temperature anomalies. Additionally, the study will identify patterns of fire recurrence and their relationship with thermal anomalies using statistical methods such as linear regressions and Pearson correlations. Data processing will be conducted in Python and R, generating graphs for representation. The research seeks to enhance understanding of (wild)fires and their impact, providing insights for prevention policies and sustainable management of the Cerrado.