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Trends and correlation between deforestation and precipitation in the Brazilian Amazon Biome

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Abstract

This paper analyzes the correlation between precipitation and deforestation and trends in the Brazilian Amazon Biome from 1985 to 2021 using rain gauge measurements. A total of 187 stations were selected after filtering time series with less than 10% of missing data. Deforestation data was acquired using the MapBiomas dataset. Results show that deforestation rates vary across different locations and may be influenced by various factors. The analysis also found significant negative correlations between precipitation and deforestation, with a range of − 0.49 to − 0.33, as well as significant positive correlations, with a range of 0.34 to 0.57. These findings underscore the importance of continued monitoring of precipitation patterns in the region and the urgent need for measures to mitigate deforestation, which is critical for the hydrological cycle of the region. The highest deforestation rates and values were found between latitude 0 and − 12.5, where the arc of deforestation lies. Additionally, this study found a significant negative correlation between precipitation patterns and deforestation, indicating that deforestation led to a reduction in rainfall in the region.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and analyzed during the current study are publicly available in the supplementary material.

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  1. Federal University of Rondônia, Ji-Paraná, Rondônia, Brazil

    Rodrigo Martins Moreira

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  1. Rodrigo Martins Moreira
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Rodrigo Martins Moreira was responsible for material preparation, data collection, and analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Rodrigo Martins Moreira.

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Correspondence to Rodrigo Martins Moreira.

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Moreira, R.M. Trends and correlation between deforestation and precipitation in the Brazilian Amazon Biome. Theor Appl Climatol 155, 3683–3692 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-024-04838-5

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