Perfil e índice de perigo de incêndios florestais em áreas naturais protegidas da caatinga

Abstract

Every year, around 10 million hectares of forests are the victims of fire occurrences in the world, caused mainly by exploitation for agriculture and livestock. In Brazil, forest fires are considered one of the main environmental problems, regarded as one of the key factors influencing the destruction and threatens the forest biodiversity. The devastation caused by fire can severely compromise regions that are already intrinsically affected by their own climatic characteristics, such as the semi-arid region of the Caatinga. It then becomes necessary to delimit areas that can guarantee the availability of natural resources, as well as the separation of specific areas for exploration that meets man's needs without damaging the environment. Based on this, this study aimed at understanding the perfil of forest fires in protected areas in the states of Rio Grande do Norte, Ceara and Pernambuco, as well as the most propitious period for their occurrence and to understand their main causes beyond the affected areas. In order to evaluate the hazard characteristics of fires in the three protected forest areas, it was collected daily weather records relating to precipitation and the values for relative humidity during the period comprising the years 2010-2019 to estimate the degree of fire hazard through the Monte Alegre Formula. Through data from the Fire Occurrence Registry of the National Fire Information System provided by the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, it was possible to ascertain which areas are most frequently affected and the most common causes for the occurrence of forest fires in each protected area. The period considered most critical and that most frequently occurs forest fires in the studied protected forest areas is that which comprises the second semester of the year. The months from August to December showed a drastic reduction in the volume of rainfall and, consequently, increased the risk of fire hazards. The native vegetation is the main target of fires and causes ranging from vandalism, honey production, cleaning areas to agriculture and livestock, as well as occurrences of indeterminate origin.