Mapeamento e monitoramento de cicatrizes de queimadas na REBIO do Gurupi-MA utilizando imagens orbitais de média resolução espacial

The remote sensing techniques have an essential role in environmental monitoring, as it has been done in Legal Amazon for over twenty years now, by the National Institute of Spatial Research (INPE). In this context, the “Queimadas” Project monitors hotspots and forest fires, besides of calculating and previewing the vegetation’s fire risk. The Gurupi Biological Reserve (REBIO Gurupi) located in the State of Maranhão is a conservation unit that suffers constantly with invasions, fauna threats, illegal wood extraction and deforestation, and thereby being also a target of intense and frequent burnings. Accordingly, this paper has as main objective to map and monitor burnt scars inside the REBIO Gurupi, using medium resolution orbit images, considering the hotspots dynamic presented in the area, in the period of August, 2015 to April, 2016. Images of three different dates were analyzed (August, 2015; December, 2016 and March, 2016), with 12.326 hotspots in the period and 11.151,72 km² of burnt scars in the area, continuous and of great dimension, indicating recurring burnings, according to the literature. The burnings and hotspots distribution in the REBIO Gurupi is associated to the type of existing occupation, which in the north is majorly established by medium and big farm owners and in the south, by rural producers, where it was mapped the biggest burning area. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to keep monitoring this area, in order to prevent and control the burnings inside the REBIO Gurupi.