Sustainable forest management of miombo woodlands in Niassa National Reserve, northern Mozambique: a multidisciplinary approach of fire resistance analysis.

Poster presented at XIII World Forestry Congress. Buenos Aires (Argentina). 18 - 23 Oct 2009

Kinematics of Black Hole X-ray Binary GRS 1915+105

The space velocity of a stellar black hole encodes the history of its formation and evolution. Here we measure the 3-dimensional motion of the microquasar GRS 1915+105, using a decade of astrometry with the NRAO Very Long Baseline Array, together with the published radial velocity. The velocity in the Galactic Plane deviates from circular rotation by 53-80 +_ 8 km/s, where the range covers any specific distance from 6-12 kpc. Perpendicular to the plane, the velocity is only 10 +_ 4 km/s. The peculiar velocity is minimized at a distance 9-10 kpc, and is then nearly in the radial direction towards the Galactic Center. We discuss mechanisms for the origin of the peculiar velocity, and conclude that it is most likely a consequence of Galactic velocity diffusion on this old binary, rather than the result of a supernova kick during the formation of the 14 Mo black hole. Finally, a brief comparison is made with 4 other BH binaries whose kinematics are well determined.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures. ApJ accepte

Robustness of reserve selection procedures under temporal species turnover

Complementarity-based algorithms for the selection of reserve networks emphasize the need to represent biodiversity features efficiently, but this may not be sufficient to maintain those features in the long term. Here, we use data from the Common Birds Census in Britain as an exemplar data set to determine guidelines for the selection of reserve networks which are more robust to temporal turnover in features. The extinction patterns found over the 1981-1991 interval suggest that two such guidelines are to represent species in the best sites where they occur (higher local abundance) and to give priority to the rarer species. We tested five reserve selection strategies, one which finds the minimum representation set and others which incorporate the first or both guidelines proposed. Strategies were tested in terms of their efficiency (inversely related to the total area selected) and effectiveness (inversely related to the percentage of species lost) using data on eight pairs of ten-year intervals. The minimum set strategy was always the most efficient, but suffered higher species loss than the others, suggesting that there is a trade-off between efficiency and effectiveness. A desirable compromise can be achieved by embedding the concerns about the long-term maintenance of the biodiversity features of interest in the complementarity-based algorithms

Photometry and dynamics of the minor mergers AM\,1228-260 and AM\,2058-381

We investigate interaction effects on the dynamics and morphology of the galaxy pairs AM\,2058-381 and AM\,1228-260. This work is based on $r'$ images and long-slit spectra obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph at the Gemini South Telescope. The luminosity ratio between the main (AM\,2058A) and secondary (AM\,2058B) components of the first pair is a factor of $\sim$ 5, while for the other pair, the main (AM\,1228A) component is 20 times more luminous than the secondary (AM\,1228B). The four galaxies have pseudo-bulges, with a S\'ersic index $n<2$. Their observed radial velocities profiles (RVPs) present several irregularities. The receding side of the RVP of AM\,2058A is displaced with respect to the velocity field model, while there is a strong evidence that AM\,2058B is a tumbling body, rotating along its major axis. The RVPs for AM\,1228A indicate a misalignment between the kinematic and photometric major axes. The RVP for AM\,1228B is quite perturbed, very likely due to the interaction with AM\,1228A. NFW halo parameters for AM\,2058A are similar to those of the Milky Way and M\,31. The halo mass of AM\,1228A is roughly 10\% that of AM\,2058A. The mass-to-light (M/L) of AM\,2058 agrees with the mean value derived for late-type spirals, while the low M/L for AM\,1228A may be due to the intense star formation ongoing in this galaxy.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Vida de bicho: a fauna e o meio ambiente no Brasil.

As cartilhas dos jogos ambientais da Ema constituem um material que visa atender a Educação Ambiental de crianças e adultos.bitstream/item/128277/1/EMA-7-FAUNA.pdfProjeto Minibibliotecas

Gestão ambiental territorial do agroturismo e da agricultura orgânica.

Pela via da avaliação, adequação e gestão da qualidade ambiental na realização das atividades rurais pode-se promover a integração dos produtores, cuja organização pode culminar na gestão ambiental territorial. Conformar redes sociais de interesse, organizar agentes locais, firmar parcerias, amalgamar os anseios comunitários não são processos espontâneos, é necessária a existência de um objetivo comum, um projeto consensual para o qual convirjam os interesses desses agentes. No meio rural, as capacidades produtivas e as características dos recursos disponíveis oferecem as bases para o projeto de desenvolvimento sustentável. Tendose o objetivo acordado entre os agentes, faz-se mister elaborar um fio condutor que permita tecer a malha da rede social. O desempenho ambiental de atividades rurais oferece um tal fio condutor, averiguado, corrigido e gerido pela avaliação de impacto ambiental (AIA) em sentido amplo, integrando-se os aspectos sociais, culturais, econômicos e ecológicos. Um programa de avaliação ambiental e gestão territorial participativa foi desenvolvido para atividades de agroturismo e agricultura ecológica, respectivamente nas regiões de Itu (SP) e Venda Nova do Imigrante (ES), e Francisco Beltrão (PR) e Ibiúna (SP). Idealizou-se para esse estudo um Sistema de ?Avaliação Ponderada de Impacto Ambiental de atividades do Novo Rural? (APOIA-NovoRural), que consiste de 62 indicadores em uma plataforma de avaliação que fundamenta-se no envolvimento e no conhecimento do produtor rural quanto a seu estabelecimento, bem como em análises que indicam a situação de desempenho ambiental. Os resultados das avaliações mostraram que os indicadores da dimensão Ecologia da Paisagem são os que mais demandam intervenção para adequar a gestão dos estabelecimentos, nas atividades estudadas. O desempenho muito favorável da agricultura orgânica na dimensão Gestão e Administração foi o principal diferencial, que resultou em um desempenho melhor para essa atividade