Droughts Amplify Differences Between the Energy Balance Components of Amazon Forests and Croplands
Droughts can exert a strong influence on the regional energy balance of the Amazon and Cerrado, as can the replacement of native vegetation by croplands. What remains unclear is how these two forcing factors interact and whether land cover changes fundamentally alter the sensitivity of the energy ba...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-02-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/3/525 |
| _version_ | 1798019051642945536 |
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| author | Charles Caioni Divino Vicente Silvério Marcia N. Macedo Michael T. Coe Paulo M. Brando |
| author_facet | Charles Caioni Divino Vicente Silvério Marcia N. Macedo Michael T. Coe Paulo M. Brando |
| author_sort | Charles Caioni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Droughts can exert a strong influence on the regional energy balance of the Amazon and Cerrado, as can the replacement of native vegetation by croplands. What remains unclear is how these two forcing factors interact and whether land cover changes fundamentally alter the sensitivity of the energy balance components to drought events. To fill this gap, we used remote sensing data to evaluate the impacts of drought on evapotranspiration (ET), land surface temperature (LST), and albedo on cultivated areas, savannas, and forests. Our results (for seasonal drought) indicate that increases in monthly dryness across Mato Grosso state (southern Amazonia and northern Cerrado) drive greater increases in LST and albedo in croplands than in forests. Furthermore, during the 2007 and 2010 droughts, croplands became hotter (0.1−0.8 °C) than savannas (0.3−0.6 °C) and forests (0.2−0.3 °C). However, forest ET was consistently higher than ET in all other land uses. This finding likely indicates that forests can access deeper soil water during droughts. Overall, our findings suggest that forest remnants can play a fundamental role in the mitigation of the negative impacts of extreme drought events, contributing to a higher ET and lower LST. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T16:34:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0e972bcbf0f3424493f3d51d64770457 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T16:34:25Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-0e972bcbf0f3424493f3d51d647704572022-12-22T04:13:52ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922020-02-0112352510.3390/rs12030525rs12030525Droughts Amplify Differences Between the Energy Balance Components of Amazon Forests and CroplandsCharles Caioni0Divino Vicente Silvério1Marcia N. Macedo2Michael T. Coe3Paulo M. Brando4Programa de Pós Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso—UNEMAT, Av. Expedição Roncador Xingu, Nova Xavantina 78690-000, Mato Grosso, BrazilDepartamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia—UFRA, Capitão Poço 68650-000, Pará, BrazilInstituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia—IPAM, Rua Horizontina, Canarana 78640-000, Mato Grosso, BrazilWoods Hole Research Center, 149 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA 02540, USAPrograma de Pós Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso—UNEMAT, Av. Expedição Roncador Xingu, Nova Xavantina 78690-000, Mato Grosso, BrazilDroughts can exert a strong influence on the regional energy balance of the Amazon and Cerrado, as can the replacement of native vegetation by croplands. What remains unclear is how these two forcing factors interact and whether land cover changes fundamentally alter the sensitivity of the energy balance components to drought events. To fill this gap, we used remote sensing data to evaluate the impacts of drought on evapotranspiration (ET), land surface temperature (LST), and albedo on cultivated areas, savannas, and forests. Our results (for seasonal drought) indicate that increases in monthly dryness across Mato Grosso state (southern Amazonia and northern Cerrado) drive greater increases in LST and albedo in croplands than in forests. Furthermore, during the 2007 and 2010 droughts, croplands became hotter (0.1−0.8 °C) than savannas (0.3−0.6 °C) and forests (0.2−0.3 °C). However, forest ET was consistently higher than ET in all other land uses. This finding likely indicates that forests can access deeper soil water during droughts. Overall, our findings suggest that forest remnants can play a fundamental role in the mitigation of the negative impacts of extreme drought events, contributing to a higher ET and lower LST.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/3/525climatic extremesoutheastern amazoniadrought mitigation |
| spellingShingle | Charles Caioni Divino Vicente Silvério Marcia N. Macedo Michael T. Coe Paulo M. Brando Droughts Amplify Differences Between the Energy Balance Components of Amazon Forests and Croplands Remote Sensing climatic extreme southeastern amazonia drought mitigation |
| title | Droughts Amplify Differences Between the Energy Balance Components of Amazon Forests and Croplands |
| title_full | Droughts Amplify Differences Between the Energy Balance Components of Amazon Forests and Croplands |
| title_fullStr | Droughts Amplify Differences Between the Energy Balance Components of Amazon Forests and Croplands |
| title_full_unstemmed | Droughts Amplify Differences Between the Energy Balance Components of Amazon Forests and Croplands |
| title_short | Droughts Amplify Differences Between the Energy Balance Components of Amazon Forests and Croplands |
| title_sort | droughts amplify differences between the energy balance components of amazon forests and croplands |
| topic | climatic extreme southeastern amazonia drought mitigation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/3/525 |
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