Ecological corridors are effective strategies to address the environmental consequences of forest fragmentation by connecting fragmented areas through various techniques. This study aims to propose ...the implementation of an ecological corridor in the Itapemirim River basin in Espírito Santo, Brazil. The specific objectives of this study are as follows: delimiting the Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs) in the Itapemirim River watershed and comparing land use and land cover within these areas. The MapBiomas platform and Landsat 8 satellite images were utilized to map land use and land cover, while the criteria set by Law No. 12.651 were followed to define the APP boundaries. The calculation of the landscape ecology indices and the identification of the forest fragments with the highest potential for ecological corridor implementation were conducted using the Fuzzy logic. The QGIS 3.26 application, along with the LecoS 3.0.1 plugin and Fragstats 4.2, were employed to characterize and quantify landscape ecology indices. The costs assessment and determination of the optimal route for implementing the ecological corridor were performed, considering bothdistance and physical impediments. The least cost path algorithm was utilized, taking into account land use and land cover, APP, fragment potential, slope, and subnormal clusters. Evaluating land costs and expropriation expenses required to define the ecological corridor in the study area. The identified forest fragments for inclusion in the ecological corridor were the Caparaó National Park, the Serra das Torres State Natural Monument, and other selected fragments based on the application of Fuzzy logic to landscape ecology indices. The corridor route was determined using the least cost path algorithm, considering various factors. This study revealed that the predominant land use and land cover class in the area is pasture, and a significant portion (68.58%) of the designated Permanent Preservation Areas were in conflict with legal regulations. The bare land value per hectare for pasture was the second highest among the land use and land cover categories, accounting for 64.28% of the total. The priority area analysis indicated that 31.86% of the region had high or very high importance for forest restoration, while 42.97% had low or very low priority. The findings demonstrate that the least cost path algorithm, coupled with a multi-criteria decision-making approach using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), is a valuable tool for planning and implementing ecological networks. These methods effectively consider critical factors in decision-making processes related to the optimal location of the ecological corridor. In conclusion, this study provides insights into the implementation of an ecological corridor in the Itapemirim River basin, emphasizing the importance of considering multiple factors and utilizing appropriate methodologies for effective decision-making in ecological planning.
Forest fires are a potential threat to life, as they contribute to reducing forest areas, impact on the services we expect from ecosystems, the health of the inhabitants is affected by smoke and the ...economic costs for the recovery of affected areas is high. The objective of the study is to apply fuzzy logic to model the risk of forest fires in the Cajamarca-Peru region, incorporating variables that represent biological, topographic, socioeconomic, and meteorological factors. The analysis was based on the acquisition, editing and rasterization of the database, application of fuzzy membership functions and image fuzzification, fuzzy superposition and spatial reclassification of forest fire risk. The results obtained show that 71.68% of the area is under very low or medium forest fire risk. However, 28.32% of the study area has a high to very high fire risk, which makes the occurrence of fires susceptible to the lack of rain and water in the soil. It was found that biological, topographic, and socioeconomic factors with their respective variables are directly influenced by meteorological factor variables such as temperature, rainfall and water availability. Fuzzy logic offered flexibility in modeling wildfire risk in the region, proving to be a useful tool for predicting and mapping wildfire risk.
This study aimed to develop an optimal set and size model of bioenergy facilities using a GIS framework. Data from sugarcane plantations were used to create case scenarios. Spatial analysis was ...accomplished by applying a two-phase approach: identification of suitable zones to locate bioenergy facilities and identification of ideal areas. These analyses led to a location-allocation model, using Maximize Capacitated Coverage option, in order to assign sugarcane supply areas to potential bioenergy facilities. Nine themes, as well their respective weights, generated by AHP, were used to create a visual depiction of potential sites. This layer was reclassified into five categories, using Natural Breaks (Jenks) method. Various scenarios of bioenergy plants installation were simulated. Around 50% of the area is unsuitable for bioenergy plants. A total of 1,737 potential sites were detected for implanting bioenergy plants. The best regions to locate bioenergy plants were peripheral areas. Cumulative biomass transportation distances dramatically reduce as the number of facilities increases. There is a reduction of 31% in total and average distances when comparing a 4-plant scenario with a single plant scenario. Proposed scenarios can support decision making with different numbers of bioenergy plants. Proposed methodology can be adapted to areas of other countries.
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•We developed a methodology that finds the best sites for Bioenergy industry installation.•We presented ideal locations for Bioenergy industries in many simulated scenarios.•Transport costs will decrease exponentially with higher number of smaller capacity plants.•The methodology can be applied to any supply delivery problems.
Although forest fires are indispensable for some ecosystems, they can have profound economic, environmental, and social implications, especially when they reach high intensities. There are two ...crucial factors in fighting forest fires: the availability of water resources and the service network. The objective of this study was to propose an alternative methodology for allocating water reservoirs to fight forest fires. The research was divided into three stages: zoning of fire risk, delimitation of viable areas for the implementation of water reservoirs, and determining strategic locations for reservoir allocation. The variables analyzed were land use and occupation, provision of watercourses, relief orientation, slope, proximity to roads, temperature, and precipitation. Fuzzy logic, Euclidean distance, and network analysis were used as the modeling techniques. Scenarios with all risk classes and only the high- and very high-risk classes were analyzed. A total of 66% of the area was represented by the low- and moderate-risk fire classes and 53.16% had a low potential for reservoir allocation, influenced by the low availability of water resources in the area. The proposed model efficiently allocated the water collection points in the different scenarios, and allowed the determination of the areas most susceptible to the occurrence of forest fires and the optimal locations for the installation of reservoirs, with the allocation of 21 water reservoirs to attend the areas of high- and very high-risk of occurrence of fires at a safe speed (40 km h−1) and 47 reservoirs to meet all risk classes at the same speed. The proposed methodology is feasible, applicable, and adjustable and can be implemented in other conservation units and areas of economic interest.
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•We use Artificial Intelligence to strategic allocation for due to wildfire risk.•Indicates the risk of wildfires and where to allocate water reservoirs to firefight.•16 scenarios were created to meet all the financial and environmental limitations.•The number of service points and the travel speed influences the reservoirs number.•The proposed methodology is feasible, applicable and adjustable to any other area.
The Atlantic Forest biome is recognized for its biodiversity and is one of the most threatened biomes on the planet, with forest fragmentation increasing due to uncontrolled land use, land ...occupation, and population growth. The most serious aspect of the forest fragmentation process is the edge effect and the loss of biodiversity. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of forest fragmentation and select potential forest fragments with a higher degree of conservation for seed harvesting in the Itapemirim river basin, Espírito Santo State, Brazil. Image classification techniques, forest landscape ecology, and multi-criteria analysis were used to evaluate the evolution of forest fragmentation to develop the landscape metric indexes, and to select potential forest fragments for seed harvesting for the years 1985 and 2013. According to the results, there was a reduction of 2.55% of the occupancy of the fragments in the basin between the years 1985 and 2013. For the years 1985 and 2013, forest fragment units 2 and 3 were spatialized with a high potential for seed harvesting, representing 6.99% and 16.01% of the total fragments, respectively. The methodology used in this study has the potential to be used to support decisions for the selection of potential fragments for seed harvesting because selecting fragments in different environments by their spatial attributes provides a greater degree of conservation, contributing to the protection and conscious management of the forests. The proposed methodology can be adapted to other areas and different biomes of the world.
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•We examined the dynamics of the forest fragmentation for the years 1985 and 2013.•We analyzed of the forest landscape ecology for the years 1985 and 2013.•We selected the potential forest fragments to seed harvesting.•The methodology serves as the basis for planning of the seed harvesting.•The proposed methodology can be adapted to areas of other countries.
Environmental vulnerability refers to the susceptibility of a region to damage when it is subjected to natural or anthropogenic actions. The assessment of environmental vulnerability in lakes is an ...important tool to assist managers in planning and intervening for sustainable production and environmental preservation. The combination of geotechnologies, fuzzy logic and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been applied by professionals and researchers to improve the work and research conducted in various areas and environments. In this context, the objective of this work was to map the environmental vulnerability of a lake and its surroundings through fuzzy logic and the AHP method. The study area comprises the Juparanã Lagoon Drainage Surface (JLDS), Espírito Santo state, Brazil. A survey of the physical characteristics of the watershed (drainage surface) that feeds the Juparanã Lagoon was carried out and also of the land use of this surface. To achieve the proposed objectives, the following methodological steps were implemented: (a) delimitation of watersheds, (b) spatialization of Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) based on the Brazilian Forestry Code (Law nº 12,651/2012), (c) application of logic fuzzy and AHP to spatialize the environmental vulnerability and (d) application of an evaluation of environmental vulnerability to the Preservation Areas (APP). Environmental vulnerability was modeled using Euclidean distance analysis, fuzzy logic and the AHP method, as proposed by Saaty (1977). For the development of this work, geotechnologies were used, with special emphasis on the use of the free software QGIS. The analysis revealed that 31.20%, 32.86% and 20.93% of the JLDS have very high, high and medium vulnerability, respectively. The evaluation of the environmental vulnerability of the APP showed that there is protection in the APP of the JLDS at rates of 47.35%, 34.05% and 14.5% for very high, high and medium vulnerability classes, respectively. The difficulties encountered were related to the lack of studies in the area of environmental vulnerability with a particular focus on lagoons. Here, for the first time, we perform a photointerpretation of the surroundings of Juparanã Lagoon. An important improvement measure would be the application of a temporal analysis to assess the dynamics of environmental vulnerability over time, considering socioeconomic, climatic and environmental changes. This would provide a more complete understanding of the distribution of environmental vulnerability in the study area. The methodology can be adapted to consider different scales of analysis, from local to regional, national and global scales, to assess environmental vulnerability at various scopes and levels of complexity. It can also be adapted to include local communities and governments.
This study focused on downy mildew in hop caused by the pathogen Pseudoperonospora humuli. A systematic literature review was conducted using bibliometric analysis to explore trends in publishing, ...prominent research themes, and where research is being conducted on hop downy mildew. The databases Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect were used to identify publications spanning from 1928 to 2023. The analysis yielded 54 publications, with the most cited studies primarily focusing on disease management and host resistance. Additionally, these studies explored the genetic and pathogenic relationship between P. cubensis and P. humuli. A word co-occurrence map revealed that the main themes addressed in the publications included “hop”, “disease”, “downy”, “humuli”, “mildew”, and “Pseudoperonospora”. Notably, there was a particular emphasis on subtopics such as disease management, the disease reaction of hop cultivars, and the influence of weather factors on hop downy mildew. Notably, there was limited knowledge about the disease in regions with tropical climates. This study provides valuable information that can support and guide future research endeavors concerning downy mildew in hop cultivation.
We report 24 records of giant armadillo roadkill on Brazilian highways in the Cerrado, Pantanal and Amazon biomes illustrating that highways are a threat to this species. However, we also documented ...the species using underpasses, demonstrating that these structures could help to reduce the risk of roadkill for giant armadillos.
in Portuguese is available with online material
Resumo
Relatamos 22 registros de atropelamentos de tatus‐canastras nas rodovias do Brasil nos biomas Cerrado, Pantanal e Amazônia, ilustrando que as rodovias são uma ameaça para esta espécie. No entanto, também documentamos a espécie usando passagens inferiores, demonstrando que essas estruturas podem ajudar a reduzir o risco de atropelamentos de tatus‐canastras.
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•Sapucaia shows high phenotypic diversity with regard to macronutrients’ amounts.•Depending on the matrix, consuming ¼ of the nuts daily gets the ideal amount of Se.•The largest ...sapucaia seeds have one of the lowest amounts of lignin in the tegument.•X-ray technology enables efficient and non-destructive determination of seed density.•The proposed methodology can be adapted to other seeds.
Sapucaia or Lecythis pisonis Cambess. is an ornamental tree that produces edible, tasty, and nutritious nuts, and can be used for timber production. Sapucaia has potential as a functional food, owing to optimal nutritional and particularly Se levels. The present study sought to characterize the seeds of 21 sapucaia matrices from forest remnants of a neotropical hotspot (Atlantic Forest) and farms in two Brazilian states. Biometrics, germination, vigor, lignin content in the teguments, minerals content, and phenotypic and molecular diversity were analyzed. The seeds of matrices 16 and 21 were the most vigorous. Nuts from matrices 21 and 17 contained the highest amounts of Se. Matrices 5, 8, and 21 were the most phenotypically distant; whereas matrix 21 was the most genetically distant. Importantly, we validated a new non-destructive and efficient X-ray-based methodology for internal and densitometric analysis of sapucaia seeds, and demonstrated a high genetic divergence among matrices.
ABSTRACT The institution of biological value areas through the creation of Natural Protected Areas is an essential tool for protecting the country’s environmental resources to face advanced anthropic ...development in natural areas, either to increase agriculture production or for economic growth. Environmental vulnerability studies combined with geotechnological tools have been vital to identifying the most vulnerable areas and consequently help Conservation Units protection. This study aimed to analyze environmental vulnerability at the buffer zone of Itabira Natural Monument (MONAI) in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Brazil. The necessary methodological steps for this study were as follows: a) Photointerpretation of land use; b) Anthropic variables selection; c) Application of Euclidean distance function in variables vector images; d) Application of fuzzy membership function in variables raster images; e) Application of Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP); and f) Spatial classification of environmental vulnerability around MONAI. Land use conflicts reveal a relevant presence of pasture areas, representing 49.80% of the buffer zone. This fact corroborates with its Euclidean distance value, which showed the lowest linear value, 836 meters. Eight anthropic variables have been incorporated, highlighting crops, urban areas, exposed soil and pasture. Jenks natural breaks defined five vulnerability classes. According to the results, 57.14% of the entire MONAI buffer zone is represented by the high and very high classes. The outdated law creation of MONAI and the need for a management plan result in a vulnerable buffer zone. The present study can support management plan formulation and assist MONAI’s buffer zone delimitation.
RESUMO A instituição de áreas de elevado valor biológico por meio da criação Unidades de Conservação (UC’s) tem se tornado importante instrumento de proteção aos recursos ambientais no país, frente ao desenfreado avanço antrópico sobre ambientes naturais. Os estudos de vulnerabilidade ambiental aliados à geotecnologia têm se mostrado uma relevante ferramenta na identificação de áreas mais vulneráveis, e, consequentemente, no gerenciamento e proteção das UC’s. Este trabalho objetivou analisar a vulnerabilidade ambiental no entorno do Monumento Natural do Itabira (MONAI), localizado no município de Cachoeiro de Itapemirim/ES, por meio de ferramentas geotecnológicas e inteligência artificial. As etapas metodológicas necessárias para este estudo foram: a) fotointerpretação do uso e ocupação da terra; b) seleção das variáveis antrópicas; c) aplicação da distância euclidiana nos vetores representativos das variáveis; d) aplicação da lógica Fuzzy nas matrizes das variáveis de distância euclidiana; e) aplicação do método Hierárquico Analítico (AHP); e f) espacialização das áreas de vulnerabilidade ambiental no entorno do MONAI. Os conflitos de uso e ocupação da terra demonstraram presença majoritária de pastagens, representando 49,80% da área de estudo, corroborando com o cálculo da distância euclidiana que atribuiu a esta variável o menor valor linear em relação à UC, 836 metros. Dentre as 5 classes de vulnerabilidade definidas pelas quebras naturais de Jenks, observou-se que 57,14% do entorno do MONAI é representado pelas classes alta e muito alta. A desatualização da lei de criação do MONAI e a inexistência de plano de manejo implicam no mapeamento de uma zona de amortecimento majoritariamente vulnerável ambientalmente. O presente estudo pode subsidiar a elaboração do plano de manejo e a demarcação da zona de amortecimento do MONAI.
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