de Oliveira, Robson Santana

dos Santos, Leandr Maracahipes

Macedo, Márcia Nunes

Moreira, Fabio Garcia

Silvério, Divino Vicente

English

Portal de Revistas do ICMBio (Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade)

Effects of fire and extreme drought events 39 
Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade Biodiversidade Brasileira, 10(1): 39, 2020 
 
 
Effects of fire and extreme drought events on forest integrity in the 
Xingu Indigenous Lands 
 
 
 
Robson Santana de Oliveira1*, Divino Vicente Silvério2, Leandro Maracahipes dos Santos2, Fábio Garcia 
Moreira3, Márcia Nunes Macedo4 
 
 
1Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso 
(UNEMAT), Nova Xavantina, Brazil. ＊E-mail para contato: roby87gyn@gmail.com 
2Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (IPAM), Canarana, Brazil 
3Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), Canarana, Brazil 
4Woods Hole Research Centert (WHRC), Falmouth, EUA 
 
 
 
 
 
ABSTRACT – In the Amazon, large areas of forest in protected areas have become 
degraded over time, yet the drivers of these changes remain largely unknown. 
Specifically, we still know little about the relative contribution of anthropogenic and 
natural degradation pressures, such as the occurrence of fire and drought events on this 
process. To evaluate the effects of these factors on the integrity of forests in the Xingu 
Indigenous Territories (TIX), we quantified forest cover loss over the last 17 years (2001-
2017). Using a generalized linear model (GLM), we evaluated the role of six different 
predictors: type of forest (upland or floodplain); number of times the area burned; 
population density; distance from villages; distance from major rivers; and the number of 
extreme drought events. Results showed that the area with forest structure in TIX 
droppedd 9.3% from 2001 to 2017, and half of this change occuring after 2015. All 
variables were important in explaining recent forest loss, but the number of times the area 
was burned, the number of extreme drought events and the type of forest were the main 
predictors. After three fire events, the likelihood of forest loss in a flooded area (70%) is 
30% higher compared to an upland area (40%). Given the same number of fire events, 
areas that have not suffered with extreme droughts showed a 25% lower likelihood 
compared to areas with three drought events. Our results indicate that the forest type and 
population density in protected areas are important in explaining forest loss in indigenous 
lands, but changes in fire regime and the occurrence of extreme drought events are the 
main vectors of recent changes in forest cover. 
 
 Keywords: forest cover, fire, drought, upland forest, flooded forest. 
 


Effects of fire and extreme drought events on forest integrity in the Xingu Indigenous Lands

https://www.icmbio.gov.br/revistaeletronica/index.php/BioBR/article/download/1602/1114

Effects of fire and extreme drought events on forest integrity in the Xingu Indigenous Lands

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