Uso da inteligência geográfica no apoio à política de prevençãoe combate a queimadas no município de Niterói, RJ, Brasil / The use of geographical intelligence in support of the policy of prevention and fire fighting in the county of Niterói, RJ, Brazil

A ocorrência de incêndios na vegetação relaciona-se diretamente com dois tipos de fatores: os de caráter permanente (material combustível, tipo de floresta e topografia) e os de caráter variável (condições climáticas, como por exemplo, a umidade relativa do ar e a temperatura). As características de uso e ocupação do solo associadas às condições climáticas (estação chuvosa no verão e estação mais seca no inverno combinado com períodos de estiagem de várias semanas, no verão, no qual a insolação é muito alta e a umidade atmosférica decresce acentuadamente) contribuem para o aumento do número de focos de incêndios e da extensão das áreas queimadas. Dentre as estratégias para tornar o município modelo de Cidade Resiliente, sobressaem os investimentos em planejamentos e obras de proteção e prevenção aos riscos geotécnicos, bem como em conservação e recuperação de ecossistemas com este mesmo objetivo, ou seja, ação preventiva contra os processos erosivos e de riscos geotécnicos que podem resultar em deslizamentos de encostas. No caso de Niterói, o principal fator de perda de florestas e outros ecossistemas naturais é o fogo. Assim, o presente artigo apresenta as ações desenvolvidas, com o auxílio de geotecnologias, visando a prevenção e o combate aos incêndios florestais

Smart cities: construção sustentável e edifícios inteligentes são tendências para o futuro / Smart cities: sustainable construction and smart buildings are trends for the future

Ao longo das últimas décadas, fatores econômicos, sociais, políticos, de saúde, entre outros, favoreceram o crescimento urbano, porém, juntamente ao crescimento da população, ocorrem também uma série de problemas advindos do processo de urbanização desordenado. Dentre estes é possível destacar: dificuldade na gestão de resíduos, escassez de recursos naturais, poluição do ar e sonora, condições inadequadas no sistema de saúde, precariedade de transporte público e mobilidade urbana, obsolescência nas atividades de segurança pública, dentre outros fatores que prejudicam a qualidade de vida da população. No intuito de melhorar este cenário, foi desenvolvido um novo conceito vinculada as tecnologias existentes, que são as chamadas Smart Cities – Cidades inteligentes e os Smart Buildings – Edifícios inteligentes, que permitem um ambiente urbano mais sustentável e que proporciona melhor qualidade de vida aos seus cidadãos. Com base nisso, o estudo em questão possui como objetivo apresentar os conceitos vinculados aos chamados smart buildings, bem como, a aplicação de soluções sustentáveis, vinculadas a tecnologia nestas edificações, tudo no intuito, de buscar uma minimização do processo acelerado de urbanização no país

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora