Repositório RCAAP

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos

Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos

The present work aims to study the acquisition of environmental information through the analysis of insect fauna in an agroforestry system consisting of alleys native trees planted between strips of different widths cultivated with cane sugar. These are important complementary information for the commercial deployment of large areas of this agroforestry system that seeks to mitigate the undesirable impacts caused by sugar cane monoculture. The option for this type of analysis is linked to the practical and low cost, using simple equipment, apply without interfering with routine activities of production or the development of culture. Another aspect is the possibility of obtaining information in the short term, considering the insects are sensitive to environmental stimuli, numerous and capable of producing several generations in a short period of time. Besides that respond quickly to disturbances in their habitat features and changes in structure and function of ecosystems. Catches of the specimens were held bimonthly and lines of trees, and the tracks in culture for three complete cycles of cane sugar. We analyzed the interactions of these populations in relation to climatic aspects and between different environments formed by sugar cane planted between three different species of native trees; guapuruvu, cedar and yellow ipe. Were captured 84,644 specimens, and their records used in ecological analyzes. The results showed that initially environments formed by different combinations of tree-cane behaved differently. During studies of these environments were coalescing gradually showing a tendency to operate in the future as a single community without major conflicts. This would be a desirable feature about the purpose of implementing such agroforestry system. The spatial distribution of insect fauna occurred randomly in all environments studied. Environmental analysis with relatively simple methodology has generated consistent information.

Bauru is considered an important city in the regional context of the São Paulo State. It is situated in the center-west of the state and its main economical activity is the service sector. The urban growth of Bauru has occurred in the bottom of the valley and that compromised the ecological condition in the urban mean. Also known as the "city without limits", Bauru has been suffering with the public politics of the city government, associated with the conditions of the urban environment appropriations, the financial capital and real state, besides the irregular use of the urban soil, all this contributing to accentuate the unbalance of the physical nature, the landscape and the social conditions of the inhabitants that live in areas situated in the bottom of the valley. The purpose of this research is to identify and to analyse the importance of the Special Sectors of Conservation of the Bottom of the Valley also called SEC in the urban system and in the maintenance of life quality to local communities. In this investigation, we used and analysed the laws established by the Town's Plan, in order to check the execution of the environment legislation about the occupation of urban space in the areas of the bottom of the valley. It was observed that the social environment degradation in the Special Sectors of Conservation of the Bottom of the Valley SEC in Bauru has became evident, this meaning that the urban environment is in crisis and it is risky for the ecosystem capacity. It was also verified that the growth of the city has been orientated to the appropriation of the urban space, without considering the social and the natural aspects of the environment, resulting in fragmented actions and in the wasteful of public resources. The public practices of Bauru local administration does not accomplish the legislation in effect by the Town's Plan, risking the proper development of the city when avoiding the environment problem in the Special Sectors of Conservation in the Bottom of the Valley. The urban expansion growth to new areas made that the bottom of the valley could express how are the relations between the public power and the different kinds of interests established in the urban environment, making the Special Sectors of Bottom of the Valley objects to be used to a few people, in detriment of the most of the population, that live in helpless situation, contributing to accelerate the degradation of the social-environment process. This work has the intention to be helpful for the comprehension of the physical nature relations in Bauru urban environment and to add support as to make it easier to the local government to direct its actions to a democratic administration concerning to the city urban expansion.

Environmental pulses occur very often in warm polymitic reservoirs and, together with shifts in the operational rules, lead to large internal temporal variability. The focus of this work was: (i) to evaluate the main characteristics and the complexity of physical processes during short-time events in a warm polymitic water body, Lobo (Broa) reservoir, and; (ii) to examine the potential of a hydrostatic three-dimensional (3D) numerical model at a coarse grid resolution to simulate correctly mixing and transport during short-time events in a warm polymitic reservoir. In this study we conducted two field experiments. In March-April 2001 a first collaborative field experiment, with intensive measurements that included both biological and physical processes, was realized in Lobo reservoir. During the 16 days experiment, a large spectrum of environmental conditions occurred: a storm, calm weather with moderate winds and the passage of a cold front. In May 2003 we conducted a second field experiment, also with intensive measurements, however focusing on the spatial variability of temperature and other variables in Lobo reservoir. A diurnal variation study was performed in both experiments. The 3D Estuary and Lake Computer Model was applied to modeling Lobo reservoir, S ao Paulo - Brazil, and was compared with data from both experiments. The reservoir spatial heterogeneity and rapid response to various pulses and diel patterns of heating and cooling were well reproduced by the numerical model. Thus, this can be a valuable tool for understanding evolution of the thermodynamics in a warm polymitic reservoir. Finally, in this work we highlight few inherent characteristics of polymitic reservoirs, which were found to be very important for the establishment of monitoring plans and the reservoir management.

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

This work aims to reflect on the continued formation in Environmental Education of rural school teachers. In recovering the story of education in rural environment, the research highlights the negligence with the education in this environment and the lack of research and intervention in Environmental Education turned into the population of the field, a marginalized and forgotten people, who is suffering the impacts of the Brazilian rural development model, generator of several economical, social and ecological problems. It aims to discuss the insertion of Environmental Education in school curriculums, and in reflecting about the main tendencies of it, rescues its story in gauche school. From the analysis of the main tendencies and approaches in teachers formation, it reports and discusses a research-action (comprehended as a strengthening of the action in the reflection and in the disruption of subject-object to subject-subject, as an incentive to participative autonomy of schooling group for a critical incorporation of Environmental Education in school curriculums), developed in four towns in the north region of the State of Rio Grande do Sul/ Brazil. The work developed with rural teachers reinforced a collective posture and stimulated teachers to make a profound study toward the comprehension of their own practice. The research, an instrument taken from the teachers hands, contributed for the formation of individuals capable to create a different rural world. This research made us to recognize some limitations of the research-action regarding its emancipatory attributes. We concluded that the fact teachers have formed a political conscience; starting to be more active and critical, not always make them autonomous, free to give their work the direction they wish. This thesis is just the beginning of a long debate, which deserves more attention by the people who work in the education field, recognizing it as an essence in the construction of any thought that might contribute for the humane development inserted in environmental contexts.

Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos

From sixties, the fish species introduction has been being a constant event in the reservoir system located on middle and low Tietê River - SP, which resulted the success introduction of Plagiosicon squamosissimus and Cichla cf. ocellaris in all these reservoirs. According to this context, the present work objectified characterize the fish community, with focus on the introduction analysis of Geophagus surinamensis, a not-native specie, and its probable progressive occupation in the system, like that already had occurred with Plagioscion squamosissimus. The results showed the occurrence of Geophagus surinamensis is confirmed in these reservoir system, indicating that its fast occupation in the Três Irmãos reservoir is made possible by the free connection that Pereira Barreto provides between Três Irmãos reservoir and Ilha Solteira reservoir, on the Paraná River. This way, it is evident the great possibility that the Geophagus surinamensis comes to be disperse for the whole reservoir system of middle and low Tietê River, like that already had occurred for the Plagioscion squamosissimus. Then, it is important to consider the Geophagus surinamensis in management programs for the Três Irmãos reservoir, so as to control and to reduce its density and of avoiding its effective spread for the others reservoirs of Tietê River.

Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos

Sem resumo

Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos

In the last decades the increase in the amount of nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, introduced into the sea, has brought an accelerated eutrophication of the coastal marine ecosystems, and great changes in water, sediment and biotic communities. Nutrient enrichment is usually associated to other pollutants, as the heavy metals. The use of macroalgae and heterotrophic bacteria has been considered an efficient tool in environmental diagnosis when focusing these two types of pollution. The aim of the present study was to compare the biomass of bacteria in the water column, attached to the macroalgae and in the sediment of Praia da Baleia (Angra dos Reis/RJ), a region used as control and of Praia de Boa Viagem (Niterói/RJ), a region where the main impact is from domestic sewage effluents evaluating the effect of the eutrophication associated to different concentrations of zinc on Champia parvula and accompanying microorganisms by using laboratory experimentation. Methods involved filtration of samples on nuclepore filters, detachment of bacteria by mechanical shaking and ultrasounding, then cell enumeration by epifluorescence and the use of conversion factors to calculate biomass as organic carbon. The highest bacteria biomass in the water, sediment and macroalgae was obtained for in Praia de Boa Viagem. The evaluation of bacteria biomass in different substrates has shown a direct correlation with the trophic state of the environment, with mean values of 0,198 µgC.cm-3 in the water; of 1,29 µgC.cm-3 in sediment and 0,038 µgC.cm-3 in the macroalgae at the area impacted, values higher than those found in the control area. Chronic and semi-estatic toxicity tests were also performed along 15 days in order to determine growth rates, mortality, and morphological changes in the fronds of the macroalgae Champia parvula, grown on different combinations of nutrients levels, zinc concentrations and presence or absence of bacteria. Laboratory experiments evidenced that zinc and nutrient concentrations interfere with growth, mortality and morphology of C. parvula and also that macronutrients and bacteria probably influenced the accumulation of zinc by the macroalgae, thus influencing its growth.

A study on the population behavior of insects of the order Coleoptera was performed, more precisely with the families Curculionidae (Scolytinae) and Bostrichidae, in a plantation of Banisteriopsis caapi (Spruce ex Griseb.) Morton, a Malpighiaceae vine known as mariri. The liana, native from the Amazon region, is the component of the beverage Ayahuasca used by the indigenous tribes in the Amazon, and more recently by religious movements in Brazil and abroad. This plant is rich in β-carboline alkaloids, secondary compounds of interest in human medicine. The study was conducted in a plantation belonging to the Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal (UDV), in Campinas city, state of São Paulo, Brazil. The area consists of four sectors, two of which are in a more urbanized area, reforested with fruit trees. The other two sectors are in an area composed of forest fragments in different stages of succession. For this study, 32 flight intercept traps were used, eight in each sector, baited with ethanol, with weekly inspections during the period from February 12, 2010, to February 18, 2011. A total of 55 samples were collected, by means of which we determined the seasonal fluctuation of these beetles and attack patterns in the lianas. A total of 68 species were identified, where Scolytinae were the dominant group, with 90.2% of the species, followed by Bostrichidae with 9.4%, and Platypodinae, with 0.4%. No beetle was found alive inside the lianas during the study. The reforestated sectors, especially in the border region, were the most attacked by beetles. The attacks were concentrated in the lower part of the stems, and in lianas with larger diameter. The variety of liana named tucunacá was more attacked than the second variety, caupuri. A national survey in plantations of mariri was also performed, where beetles of the family Cerambicidae were also found.

Concern with the effect of oil spills in coastal regions resulting from the production, refining and transport of this product has been one of the priorities of the institutions working with this sector. Consequently, there is a large demand for research on the impacts of by accidents on the environment and, particularly, on natural communities. In the present study, a mesocosm experiment was used to evaluate the effects of a mixture of light Arabian and Russian oil with the chemical dispersant Corexit® 9500, over a coastal plankton community. The experiment was carried out in Rio de Janeiro and lasted 25 consecutive days. Three replicates were used as control, with only seawater, three were treated with 800 mL of petroleum and the other three were treated with the mixture 800 mL of petroleum and 80 mL of dispersant. The chemical alterations in the water were striking, especially the rise in the concentration of organic compounds. The results demonstrated a severe reduction of phytoplankton density, as a result of the addition of oil. There was also a change in the composition of the organism groups, with alteration of dominance of diatoms to phytoflagelates. Similar effect was found for the zooplankton. Both the oil and its mixture with dispersant resulted in a reduction of population densities and changes, or disappearance, of some components. Meroplanktonic organisms had a higher sensitivity to the acute effects of the oil and oil-dispersant mixture than holoplanktonic organisms. Copepods were resistant to the effects of oil and oil-dispersant mixture. Among the herbivores, Acartia lilljeborgi had greater resistance to the acute toxic effect of oil, whereas Pseudodiaptomus acutus was more resistant to the chronic effects of both oil and the mixture. Among carnivores, Oithona hebes appeared as a resistant species to both acute and chronical effects. Mesocosms were shown to be useful for investigating the effects of oil spills on marine environments since standardized laboratory tests with algae and invertebrate test-organisms corroborated the field findings.

Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos

Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos

Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos

This study was developed at Oleo lagoon, an oxbow sited on Mogi Guaçu river floodplain, located in Estação Ecológica de Jataí (Luís Antônio SP Brazil). To evaluate the river level fluctuation on the metabolism of this lagoon the following activities were done: i) limnological inventories (pH, dissolved oxygen, ammonium, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, iron, magnesium, sodium, potassium, organic carbon, inorganic carbon, suspended matter, temperature, electrical conductivity and photosynthetic active radiation); ii) the lagoon batimetry; iii) in situ incubations to evaluate the primary production rates of two species of submerged aquatic macrophytes (Egeria najas Planchon and Utricularia breviscapa Wright ex Griseb); iv) simulation of levels of river overflow. In the rainy season, due to overflow of the waters of Mogi Guaçu river into the lagoon, intense modifications of abiotic variables were verified. In the dry period, when the lower values of temperature, electrical conductivity, total suspended matter, vertical light extinction coefficient, total carbon concentrations, NTK and Ptotal occurred, the E. najas stands were located in the bottom of the lagoon and the photosynthetic rates were significantly higher than in the rainy period, and the light was the main variable controlling this process. For U. breviscapa, the photosynthetic rates were higher in the rainy season, presenting possible relation to the values of temperature and inorganic carbon concentrations, which were higher in this period. From the results, it was observed that Oleo Lagoon showed three different limnological phases: dry, rainy without overflow and rainy with overflow. Considering it is a oxbow lake situated in a conservation unit, the change in limnological and biochemical characteristics were due to the overflow pulse, influencing directly or indirectly the primary production of E. najas and U. breviscapa.