Rainfall and deforestation in the municipality of Colíder, southern Amazon

Abstract

Deforestation may have effects on the hydrological cycle, directly reflecting in the rainfall rates. Therefore, studies pointing out evidence of climate changes caused by deforestation are extremely important, because they help understanding the way how these changes are related to forms of using and occupying the territory, as well as to the way how information obtained can to be useful for mitigating their effects. In this context, this paper aimed to analyze rainfall variations occurring in the municipality of Colíder, Mato Grosso, southern Amazon,Brazil, within a temporal scale of 28 years (daily data), correlating them to the regional and local deforestation patterns by determining Spearman's ρ coefficient. Annual rainfall presented a large variation, with a minimum of 1,296 mm in 1987 and a maximum of 2,492.8 mm in 1990. The rainy season was concentrated between October and April, and the driest period was within June and August. Spearman's coefficient pointed out negative correlations between regional and local deforestation and local rainfall, showing that the larger the deforested area, the lower the rainfall rate observed.