VARIABILIDADE DA PRECIPITAÇÃO E DOS EPISÓDIOS DE INCÊNDIO NO PANTANAL (MS)

Abstract

The present research aims to understand the dynamics of precipitation in the Pantanal Sul-Mato Grosso, during the period from 1992 to 2021, as well as the relationship between precipitation and forest fires in the area, and also the perception of the local population regarding to these environmental factors. Annual rainfall data collected from two meteorological stations were analyzed, namely the “Corumbá” station, from the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET), and the “Porto do Alegre” station, from the National Water Agency (ANA). The data was compiled in Excel spreadsheets and then the Quantile statistical technique was applied to determine the very dry, dry, normal, rainy and very rainy years. From this, a very dry year was selected, which in this case corresponds to 2019, and a very rainy year, 2017, with the aim of understanding the dynamics of fires in the Pantanal in years with different precipitation characteristics. For this, fire data was downloaded directly from the BDQueimadas platform – the Burns program of the National Institute for Space Research - INPE and this data was also compiled and analyzed in the form of graphs and/or tables. And finally, to understand the perception of the local population in relation to the dynamics of precipitation and fires, members of the Passo do Lontra community were interviewed, in the Pantanal do Abobral in Corumbá (MS). In this way, it was possible to understand and evidence a tendency towards the occurrence of less rainy years in the Pantanal Sul-Mato Grosso, in addition it was evidenced that in the driest recent year (2019) the number of fire outbreaks exceeded the averages for the region, In other words, drought contributes to fires, mainly due to the dynamics of the vegetation in the area, which in less humid weather makes it prone to fires, which directly affects the local population. According to residents' reports, rain is concentrated in certain periods while drought predominates, directly affecting the community's way of life, especially its economic activity, which is based on fishing and tourism. The population recognizes dry periods as the most dramatic, as the fires keep tourists away and harm fishing, in addition to contributing to health problems. ​