Análise da influência da cobertura vegetal no microclima em diferentes ambientes do Cariri paraibano

Abstract

The Caatinga, a semi-arid biome possessing the highest biodiversity in the world, presents over 50% of its territory undergoing degradation as a result of years of human intervention. These degradation processes impact various factors governing ecosystem functioning, such as temperature and soil humidity, leading to a decline in natural regenerative capacity and accelerating phenomena that affect the environment, such as desertification. This study aimed to analyze the influence of different types of land cover in semi-arid environments of Paraíba, Brazil, on crucial climatic variables regulating this ecosystem. Data collection involved temperature, soil humidity, and precipitation information obtained from 12 automatic weather stations distributed across the study area. Additionally, land cover data obtained through the MSAVI vegetation index extracted from Sentinel 2 satellite images were utilized. The analysis encompassed the observation of climatic trends during different periods, adjusted according to the region's rainfall seasonality between 2017 and 2021. To achieve this, Spearman correlation tests, distribution analyses using Kruskal-Wallis and Nemenyi tests, and clustering techniques through the K-means method were applied. The results indicate that environments with better-preserved vegetation exhibit lower sensitivity to climatic variations between periods, thereby promoting greater climatic stability for the ecosystem. Specifically, the meteorological station in São Sebastião do Umbuzeiro, characterized as a reference environment with superior conservation conditions, demonstrated the lowest values of soil temperature, especially in terms of maximum temperatures. Furthermore, it showed reduced soil humidity variation during different precipitation events, outlining a more resilient ecosystem concerning erosive processes.