Impacts of the Surface Heterogeneities on Local Climate in the Amazonian Subbasin of Ji-Paraná Using the Eta/Noah-MP Model

The Ji-Paraná basin is located in the Brazilian State of Rondônia in the Amazonian Arch of Deforestation. The deforestation in this region started in the 1980s. The fragmentation pattern is fishbone-like (Oliveira Filho and Metzger 2006) in the central-northwestern regions of the basin. In the south-southeastern regions of the basin, the fragmentation is like the large property pattern (Oliveira Filho and Metzger 2006). This work evaluates the impacts of both fragmentation patterns on the local climate. Simulations with the Eta/Noah-MP Regional Climate Model have been carried out with high horizontal resolution (1 km) and long temporal integrations (4 years). Results show that the model responds to fragmentation landscape. In deforested areas, the Eta/Noah-MP model reduces the latent heat flux, soil moisture, surface albedo and the net radiation, and increases the sensible heat flux and skin temperature. The impacts are greater in the fishbone pattern. The effects on the land use are higher in the dry season than in the rainy season. The model can simulate the seasonality of precipitation and impacts in this variable due to fragmentation patterns seem to be highly non-linear.

Reference:

de Oliveira Filho FJB, Metzger JP. 2006. Thresholds in landscape structure for three common deforestation patterns in the Brazilian Amazon. Landscape Ecology. 21(7): 1061–1073. DOI: 10.1007/s10980-006-6913-0.