Estudo da variabilidade horária da temperatura e umidade do solo na área experimental do projeto Esecaflor-Caxiuanã-LBA

The ESECAFLOR Project artificially induces a prolonged drought period and studies the consequences on the flows of water and carbon dioxide in an Amazon Rainforest, assessing the impacts on the ecosystem in response to this exclusion of water in the soil, a fact similar to the influence of a event of El Niño. ESECAFLOR is located in the National Forest of Caxiuanã, in the municipality of Melgaço. The objective of this work is to study soil temperature and soil moisture variability in the Brazilian Amazon. The data used refer to a period of 3 years. The results indicated greater soil moisture variability in the control plot (A), when compared to the exclusion plot (B), due to the latter having water stress. In plot B, the soil moisture remained practically constant during the studied period. In relation to the soil temperature, the variations were small in both plots, but with higher values in plot B in relation to plot A, since much of the energy that reaches the surface is used as sensible heat for its heating. With the exclusion of water in the forest soil, the life cycle may suffer irreversible changes.