Estimativa dos fluxos de CO2 e evapotranspiração em áreas de caatinga em recuperação e degradada no Estado da Paraíba.

Abstract

Studies on energy exchanges between ecosystems and the atmosphere are of great importance in understanding the role of vegetation on the local microclimate, still quite sparse when it comes to the vegetation of the Caatinga. This work aims to study the differences in the behavior of important variables as the albedo (α), net radiation (Rn), evapotranspiration (ET) and CO2 fluxes (NEE and GPP) in Caatinga area in recovery (CREC ) and degraded (CDEG) in the state of Paraíba. In the field, the flows were measured by the method of Eddy Covariance for later comparison with the same variables derived from data from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) aboard the Terra satellite. The estimates showed higher albedo values for the CDEG, and higher net radiation values for the CREC, showing that in this area there should be a greater availability of energy for realization of physical processes. The coefficient of determination (R2) between the estimates and observations of daily Rn reached 0,93. The ET estimated by SEBAL methodology showed higher differences in relation to the observed values, but fact to be considered was the rainfall next to almost all dates of the images. The MOD16A2 algorithm, however, presented closer ETvalues of the observations and the agreement with the normalized difference vegetationindex (NDVI). The CREC, in general, showed higher ET values in comparison with the CDEG. The Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) with the atmosphere were more evident to CREC, withthe CDEG showing a noticeable increase in CO2 absorption only in the rainy season. The gross primary production (GPP) estimated from the MOD17A2 even quite underestimating the measureddata, can differentiate the two areas under study for all seasons, whereas the methodology applied at the local level, linking MODIS data and measures field (GPP_ mod) moved closer to the observations, but the difference between the two areas under study became more evident in the shorter water availability. The R2 values between GPP_torre and GPP_MOD17 were respectively 0,74 and 0,66 for CREC and CDEG. Already being GPP_torre and GPP_ mod R2 values were lower, as follows: 0,35 and 0,51 for the CREC and CDEG, respectively.