Research project

The Atlantic Forest is probably the most devastated and seriously threatened ecosystem on the planet. Although the area covered by the Atlantic Forest is estimated at between 1 and 1.5 million km-2, only 7 to 8 of the original forest remains. Brazil's Atlantic rainforest (Mata Atlântica) has the second highest biodiversity in Brazil after the Amazon rainforest. Three characteristics - 93 of the originally occupied area has already been devastated; a wealth of species; and the high degree of endemism - characterize the Atlantic Forest as a hotspot. It is estimated that in the early days of our colonization, the area with vegetation cover typical of the Atlantic Forest reached around 17 of the Alagoas territory, around 34,000 km-2. Currently, due to several factors, it is estimated that this number is no more than 4.5 or 3,040 km-2. Several authors have demonstrated that the distribution of tree species in the Atlantic Forest is directly correlated with climatic characteristics, especially temperature and outlook. Therefore, the understanding and evaluation of the climatic climates that the Atlantic Forest of Alagoas has been harming with disorderly deforestation necessarily involves observational studies that seek to describe the biosphere-atmosphere interrelationships, thus characterizing the multidisciplinary nature of the study. The study will be conducted at the RPPN Posto Avançado do Sítio Pau Brasil, in the municipality of Coruripe, Alagoas, where it is estimated that there is a greater concentration native to the country of Pau-Brasil (Caesalpina echinata) and pau-falha (Aspidosperma sp) still virgin, with trees over 400 years old. With the proposed methodology, it will be possible to assess the seasonal variation of climate variations in the study site and also collaborate with the conservation effort of the biome in question.