Temperatura dos solos e suas influÊncias na regeneraÇÃo natural da caatinga nos cariris velhos - PB

Abstract

The Caatinga has undergone historical changes through the massive removal of vegetation for the development of several economic activities, and it has been causing a number of environmental problems and, among these, an increase of soil temperature. This research has been developed in the area of Old Cariris - PB, one of the most affected by deforestation in Brazilian semi-arid region, in order to identify how this process has affected the temperature of the soil, establishing relations with the germination capacity of Caatinga native plant seeds on the basis of identified thermal levels, little-known features as well as extremely important so that we can better understand the ecological succession in degraded areas. In this paper, we analyzed a historical series of data from subsurface temperatures, obtained through geothermometers and statistically analized, and from surface temperatures, through the use of satellite imagery, followed by a survey of germination capacity of Caatinga seeds in different thermal conditions. The obtained results indicate that deforestation is causing the increase of average soil temperature, currently reaching levels above 35°C in great part of the region, in which most of the seeds of the surveyed species would not develop, making it even more difficult to recover these environments. The presented data indicate the urgency of preventing the expansion of deforestation in the Caatinga, as well as the creation of recovery measures of desertified environments.