Research project

The increase in CO2 concentration has profound implications for the planet's climate. This increase is largely due to various human activities, which on the one hand have increased the amount emitted into the atmosphere, mainly due to the burning of fossil fuels, and on the other hand have reduced the capacity of terrestrial sinks. Most of the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans, but a considerable portion is absorbed by terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, investigating the exchanges of energy and mass in the most varied terrestrial ecosystems is of great relevance, as it allows the gathering of sufficient knowledge to better understand the mechanisms that control the CO2 cycle. In Brazil, CO2 dynamics have been studied in several ecosystems, such as the cerrado, cerradão and mainly the Amazon forest. On the other hand, in the Caatinga ecosystem, typical of the semi-arid region of Northeast Brazil, studies of this nature have not yet been carried out with due attention. The Caatinga plays an important role in maintaining the regional macroecological process, as well as indirectly supporting regions with greater diversity and endemism. Given this context, the present proposal aims to determine the energy balance and CO2 flow in areas of Caatinga in Cariri in the state of Paraíba, using micrometeorological techniques. The micrometeorological technique of turbulent correlations has been widely applied in the quantization of heat and mass fluxes between the surface and the atmosphere in the most varied natural and agricultural ecosystems on the planet. During the last decade, the turbulent correlation method has established itself as the standard method for estimating energy balance components and net CO2 exchanges over long periods. Previously, measures were generally restricted to short-term campaigns due to a lack of adequate instrumentation and data recording and storage resources.