This dissertation aims to investigate soil compaction and the organic carbon stock (C org) in the soils of autochthonous silvo-pastoral systems (SPs) in the Cerrado Native in the strict sense. The case study consisted of three land use systems: a SP with the continuous insertion of cattle over the years at a low stocking rate, another autochthonous silvo-pastoral system with a fallow period of two years and six months, and a control area with no management, native Cerrado with no disturbances. The soil was analyzed to a depth of one meter for: bulk density, porosity, moisture and C-org, the latter in the soil and in the organic residues on the top of the soil. An increase in bulk density was observed at a depth of 0 to 20 centimeters in the continuous silvo pastoral systems compared to the native Cerrado. Thus, there was an increase in soil compaction in this layer. The insertion of cattle into the native cerrado did not cause differences in the C-org content and stock found up to one meter deep, only differences in the C-org stock in the 20 to 40 centimeters layer and in the organic residue layer. However, due to the short time span of the data analyzed, it is not possible to understand that it is possible to stablish that the insertion of cattle at a low stocking rate in the native cerrado in the restricted sense would not cause a decrease in C-org stock over the years. Although, the results indicate that inserting cattle at a low stocking rate in the cerrado in the restricted sense would cause compaction in the soil over the years that could reach. a non-functional parameter.

Nowadays, there is a constant demand for technologies that reduce production costs and the time needed to produce quality forest seedlings, which has led researchers to develop new alternative products. These include nanofertilizers, which in agronomic crops have shown superiority in morphological, physiological, and nutritional aspects, among others. In the forestry sector, especially with tree species of economic interest, studies with nanofertilizers are in the infancy stage. The aim of this study was to test the effects of Arbolin Biogeneses nanofertilizer through top dressing, together with conventional fertilizer used in nurseries and conventional urea. Therefore, four experiments were set up. Experiment 1 evaluated the effects of different doses of nanofertilizer (0; 0.5; 1.0; 1.5 and 2 ml of nanofertilizer and standard nursery fertilizer) on Eucalyptus clone production in 55cm³ tubes. Experiments 2 (bamboo), 3 (yerba mate), and 4 (native Cerrado species) evaluated the effects of different doses of the nanofertilizer arboline and urea through top dressing. The concentrations were 2, 4, 6, and 8 ml of arboline and 2, 4, 6, and 8 g/liter of urea, with 30 ml of this solution being applied per seedling for production. The experiments evaluated the morphological and nutritional attributes and the leaching of the nutrients nitrogen (N) and carbon (C). The preliminary data were subjected to different analyses: descriptive (mean and standard deviation), normality (Shapiro-Wilk), and homogeneity (Bartlett) tests. Polynomial regression analysis of variance (α=0.05). Means with significance were submitted to the Scoth & Knott test. In addition, the doses of nanofertilizer and urea were grouped using canonical variable analysis and Pearson’s correlation |rij| through heat maps (heat maps). In general, the changes brought about by top-dressing fertilization improved morphological quality, especially rooting in eucalyptus, and the levels of leaf macro- and micronutrients for all the species used. For species in which leaching was determined, attenuation could be observed, especially in N. The use of nanofertilizer made it possible to reduce the amount of fertilizer used in nurseries, resulting in seedlings with vigorous growth and nutritional contents within the ranges considered optimal. High doses of fertilizer resulted in excessive leaching of nutrients, especially in treatments with conventional urea. The Arbolina nanofertilizer proved to be a promising alternative for improving the quality of seedlings of native and exotic forest species of commercial interest, as well as bamboos of the Guadua genus.

Embriogênese somática de alta performance para a produção e regeneração de plantas clonais de Euterpe precatoria Mart. (Arecaceae)

Oil palms are the oilseed with the highest known productivity in vegetable oil. Production incentive programs are increasing the demand for quality seedlings. The objective of this work was to evaluate the embryogenic capacity of oil palm cell aggregates, cultivated in liquid medium, to differentiate somatic embryos (SEs), mature and regenerate plants. For this purpose, cell aggregates of the interspecific hybrid B35-1733, induced from immature leaves of an adult plant and kept for six years in liquid medium were cultivated in semi-solid differentiation culture medium. Once differentiated, the maturation was carried out by transferring ESs at a stage of development similar to the torpedo, arranged in clusters, to maturation media, with different compositions of Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and sucrose, being evaluated for the accumulation of total proteins and histochemical analysis. ESs were then transferred to regeneration medium and evaluated for germination. It was found that the embryogenic suspension cultures were able to differentiate the ESs and that the maturation treatments formed solely with sucrose provided the best results for the maturation. Biochemical and histochemical tests showed that the amount of total soluble proteins in the ESs increased with the increase in the concentrations of PEG and sucrose in the maturation culture medium. The germination of ESs in plants was more efficient in those that were matured in medium supplemented with sucrose, whereas those originating from maturation treatments with PEG showed characteristic signs of browning and hyperhydricity. In conclusion, the work suggests an efficient protocol so that oil palm cell aggregates, once established and maintained in a liquid medium, can be differentiated into ESs and originate clonal plants.

The transition area between the Cerrado and Amazon biomes has suffered strong anthropic pressure resulting mainly from the expansion of commodity agriculture and livestock. In this region, the environmental legislation is less restrictive due to the predominance of Cerrado vegetation, despite the presence of transitional forests in the study area, which should be subject to more stringent measures to protect the remaining natural resources. Among the main environmental impacts resulting from the expansion of agriculture and cattle ranching in this area are the loss of habitats, the reduction of biodiversity and biomass stocks, and the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere. This research aims to develop models based on neural networks that use field data and remote sensing data, through vegetation indices, to estimate the biomass of remnant vegetation areas located in the transition between the Amazon-Cerrado biomes, in the state of Mato Grosso. For this purpose, field data were obtained from the permanent plots collected by the RAINFOR project and vegetation indices were calculated from Sentinel-2 satellite images, taking as reference the field plots. Neural networks were trained to estimate the biomass stock of the area. The choice of the most appropriate neural network was made by applying the criteria of graphical analysis, mean error of estimate, and correlation coefficient. The validation of the selected network was conducted by analyzing the results of the Student's t-test and the aggregate difference. The results of this study may contribute to the evaluation of biomass (and carbon) stocks in the study area, which may be useful in the definition of priorities for environmental conservation and in the elaboration of quantitative references for payment for environmental services resulting from the maintenance of native vegetation in the investigated area.

Land cover and land use can affect water quantity and quality due to changes in infiltration and silting of watercourses and climate change can modify the hydrological cycle. The analysis of this relationship is fundamental for planning the use of land and water resources, being even more critical in semi-arid regions, where water is a limited resource and where periodic droughts occur. For territorial planning, it is necessary to diagnose ecosystem services and their possible alterations due to different pressures in the basin, such as changes in land use and cover (LULC) and climate. Mapping and modelling the spatial distribution of ecosystem services in a watershed under LULC and climate change helps to identify critical areas and focus efforts to improve land management. This research sought to answer the following questions: (1) How do LULC and its spatial distribution contribute to the quantity and quality of water in the Rio Pardo Basin, a semi-arid region in the north of Minas Gerais? (2) How do mean and extreme weather conditions influence these responses? These questions were answered using the SDR (Sediment Delivery Ratio) and SWY (Seasonal Water Yield) models from InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs) to model erosion, flow and generation of ecosystem services for sediment retention and water availability. These processes were analyzed under real situations of LULC and climate change and hypothetical scenarios. The results of the SDR model indicate that the anthropized areas are important sources of sediments and facilitate the transport of sediments from other parts of the basin to the rivers. The ecological restoration of permanent preservation areas and conservationist management provide greater soil conservation and sediment retention, but the effectiveness is reduced in extremely humid scenarios. The results of the SWY model suggest that the reduction in precipitation in recent years is the principal cause of water scarcity in the region but that the conversion of native vegetation into Eucalyptus plantations exacerbates water scarcity in the parts of the basin where they are located. Restoration of native vegetation and the use of conservation management practices had little effect on water availability in the basin in the extremely dry scenario. In general, the results indicate that the soil and water in the Rio Pardo Basin, the more subject to human pressure, the more sensitive they can become to the climatic conditions of extreme years and that efforts to adapt to climate change must consider land use.

Tropical savanna ecosystems play a major role in the seasonality of the global carbon cycle. However, their ability to store and sequester carbon is uncertain due to combined and intermingling effects of anthropogenic activities and climate change, which impact wildfire regimes and vegetation dynamics. Accurate measurements of tropical savanna vegetation aboveground biomass (AGB) over broad spatial scales are crucial to achieve effective carbon emission mitigation strategies. UAV-lidar is a new remote sensing technology that can enable rapid 3-D mapping of structure and related AGB in tropical savanna ecosystems. This study aimed to assess the capability of high-density UAV-lidar to estimate and map total (árvore, shrubs, and surface layers) aboveground biomass density (AGBt) in the Brazilian Savanna (Cerrado). Five ordinary least square regression models estimating AGBt were adjusted using 50 field sample plots (30 m × 30 m). The best model was selected under Akaike Information Criterion, adjusted coefficient of determination (adj.R2), absolute and relative root mean square error (RMSE), and used to map AGBt from UAV-lidar data collected over 1,854 ha spanning the three major vegetation formations (forest, savanna, and grassland) in Cerrado. The model using vegetation height and cover was the most effective, with an overall model adj-R2 of 0.79 and a leave-one-out cross-validated RMSE of 19.11 Mg/ha (33.40%). The uncertainty and errors of our estimations were assessed for each vegetation formation separately, resulting in RMSEs of 27.08 Mg/ha (25.99%) for forests, 17.76 Mg/ha (43.96%) for savannas, and 7.72 Mg/ha (44.92%) for grasslands. These results prove the feasibility and potential of the UAV-lidar technology in Cerrado but also emphasize the need for further developing the estimation of biomass in grasslands, of high importance in the characterization of the global carbon balance and for supporting integrated fire management activities in tropical savanna ecosystems. Our results serve as a benchmark for future studies aiming to generate accurate biomass maps and provide baseline data for efficient management of fire and predicted climate change impacts on tropical savanna ecosystems.

This research investigated the factors associated to decentralization of forest administration and management in the Brazilian Amazon, in order to support the process of conciliation between objectives and results between forest development and forest protection, and in particular to instruct the (re)distribution of legal attributions between the federative institutions. Decentralization is treated and studied by the Theory of Federalism, which is one of the themes at the heart of democracy. As a methodology, the decentralization of forest management was studied “from the perspective” of public servants, by conducting an opinion survey in several forest management institutions in the Amazon. Differences and interpretative congruencies were compared between a) federal and state institutions, b) forestry development and environmental protection. 4 themes were studied: 1) influencing factors in forest management and public management, 2) decentralization of forest management, 3) forest management in public and private forests, and 4) public participation. The number of institutions studied was 10, with three institutions from the federal government and seven institutions from the governments of the states of AC, AM, MT, PA and RO. The adjusted population comprised 403 civil servants and reached 349 responses, 87% of the population. All institutions believe that there must be cooperation in the construction of the future agenda, and this can be a point of opening and debate to establish new parameters and definitions on how decentralization is appropriate and can be customized for each state. For example, 17 years after the enactment of the Public Forest Management Law (nº 11,284/2006) the number of areas under forest concessions in the Amazon stills very low, and states such as Acre, Amazonas and Rondônia that have state forests have not even started concessions in their respective states. Part of the problem occurs because the country lacks leadership or a leading institution to “drive” the forestry development agenda, in the attempt of coordinating and overcoming the existing gaps in the legal, organizational and resource bases. The Brazilian Forest Service (SFB) has a statutory deficiency in developing its mission, since it does not have the status of an autarchy, like its federal peers, IBAMA and ICMBio. So, the servants perceive that the agency does not have autonomy in the decision-making processes. Considering a more modern legal model of decentralization, this agency could be conceived as a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE), to treat and promote forest management as an essential public service to maintain environmental quality associated with generating income for Brazilian society. This new identity tends to the agency can promote a better structure to the business plan and its administration, giving it a more dynamic character, compared to the conventional model established in Brazil. The research showed that there is greater participation in State and forestry development institutions compared to Federal and environmental protection institutions, as well as there is a lower level of conflict in the development institutions compared to environmental protection institutions. These results validate the understanding of decentralization, which tends to be more effective in the participation process where there is closer proximity to actors, especially where the promotion of economic activities is sought, that is, in state and development institutions. Criticism of public institutions is recurrent, as spaces and processes for effective public participation will never be created or expanded by own will of the institutions, since those avoid conflict and seek affinity of ideas. Finally, it is understood that the methodology proposed in this research can be replicated and used as an instrument to monitor the evolution of policies implemented by institutions, specially to assess whether they respond to institutional planning and how these have changed, especially when new elected officials promote interference in institutional management. Institutional changes and developments can certainly be positive; however, it is necessary to adopt a well-defined implementation strategy and methods of measurement. Furthermore, the goals for public institutions and managers need to be clear. Above all, these instruments must seek to reconcile interests and objectives, both public and private, as well as developmental and environmental protection. The study brings several recommendations for public management.

Cerrado is the largest savannah in the America continent and the most biodiverse in the world. However, the biome is at the center of Brazilian anthropic expansion and 52% of the already anthropic area of the Cerrado is used for pasture. Currently, conservation of the biome depends on the conservation of native remnants and large-scale restoration. The rate at which Cerrado savanna vegetation recovers after agricultural uses, how these rates vary, and what is its capacity to provide ecosystem services equivalent to preserved vegetation are still uncertain and inconsistent information. In addition, the improvement of techniques and tools that optimize estimates and obtain variables of interest in the savannah vegetation of the Cerrado is essential for better monitoring and management of the remaining areas or those undergoing restoration. This work aimed to evaluate the resilience of the shrubby-woody stratum of an anthropogenic cerrado sensu stricto that has been regenerating for more than three decades, and compare it to a reference ecosystem. The research evaluated the floristic and structural changes in the study areas (Chapter 1), the dynamics of individuals and vegetation stocks (Chapter 2), and modeled the stock of woody biomass in cerrado sensu stricto sites, using images captured with Aircraft Remotely Piloted and image photogrammetry technique (Chapter 3). In Chapters 1 and 2, the research areas are part of the Ecological Station of Águas Emendadas (ESECAE) in the Federal District. The anthropized cerrado has a history of use as pasture for cattle (1976-1980) and soy cultivation (1980-1987). In 1988 the area was integrated into ESECAE and has been protected for regeneration ever since. In this anthropized site, 10 permanent plots (20 x 50 m) were installed to monitor the return of vegetation, and in this research we used data from forest inventories carried out in the years 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2021. A preserved cerrado with no history of anthropic was used as a reference ecosystem. In this site, we used forest inventory data from 9 permanent plots (20 x 50m), measured in the years 2008, 2011 and 2021. For Chapter 3, a third study area was considered, inserted in Fazenda Água Limpa (FAL), also in the Federal District. At FAL, we sampled 18 plots (20 x 50m) of cerrado sensu stricto submitted to different silvicultural treatments. Chapter 1 demonstrated that the preserved cerrado has about 12 times more basal area, 10 times more individuals per hectare, and a carbon stock 17 times greater than the anthropized cerrado. This anthropized site is in a slow and prolonged process of succession, and formed a different community in terms of floristics and structure in relation to the reference ecosystem, with the presence of native and exotic species. Chapter 2 demonstrated that the preserved cerrado is in dynamic equilibrium, and managed to absorb occasional disturbances that occurred between the years of monitoring, with fluctuations in the density of individuals, but maintaining its productivity. The anthropized cerrado, on the other hand, showed temporal oscillations in mortality and recruitment rates, and an intense individuals turnover. The dominant presence of invasive exotic grasses and the high frequency of fires in the anthropized cerrado have generated a community whose productivity is defined by stress and environmental disturbances. After more than three decades of natural regeneration, the native woody vegetation of the anthropized cerrado of ESECAE proved to be persistent, but with low resilience (low potential for natural regeneration). Chapter 3 used metrics derived from point clouds, constructed by photogrammetry of images, obtained by a passive sensor on board a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), to generate an estimation model of the aboveground biomass stock for the woody stratum. The generated mathematical model is composed of metrics referring to height at the 10th percentile position, and height at the 95th percentile position, with an adjusted R² of 0.93, and a mean standard error of 16%. Biomass distribution maps were generated from the model, optimizing the visualization and understanding of the spatial distribution of forest biomass stocks in the woody vegetation in the study areas. Our research reiterated that agricultural activities are extremely aggressive to savannah ecosystems, condemning them to frequent disturbances, loss of vegetation resilience and formation of new communities, which will probably no longer resemble the reference ecosystems. In addition, our work also demonstrated the potential of low-cost platforms for estimating above-ground stocks, allowing us to start a new phase in the continuous monitoring of the study areas.

The importance of forest attributes for the Brazilian Cerrado is due to the enormous biodiversity, functionalities and existing benefits, the changes in this Biome emphasize the need for studies to better understand the characteristics of the vegetation and soils where they are located, establishing forms of use and management that reduce and control degradation, aiming to maintain ecological sustainability. There are studies on the effects of fire in the Cerrado, however, the specificity of each location requires attention and a specific approach for each component of this environment. Understanding the influencing variables of this ecosystem is essential for conservation, preservation and sustainability. Therefore, this thesis aims to contribute to studies regarding the influence of fire on the main plant attributes and soil in areas of Cerrado sensu stricto, aiming to understand the relationship between species and fire, the interferences occurring in the soil, predicting the influxes future of this association. The studies were carried out at the Água Limpa Farm at the University of Brasília, in the Federal District. 15 plots were randomly allocated in three study areas, with the first being A1, with annual fire occurrence (black firebreak), A2, with a fire record for 15 years and A3 control, an area without fire occurrence for approximately 30 years, being A1, the area that borders the DF 251 highway and prescribed burning is carried out annually. A forest inventory was carried out between July and December 2021. The methodology stages in A1, A2 and A3 were carried out over a period of two and a half years, with the combination of collections and analyzes of the materials that make up forest fuel, emphasizing the assessments of interference and effects of fire on vegetation and soil. The collected data were subjected to multivariate analysis. The results obtained for the effects of fire, for A1, made it possible to distinguish plants that do not tolerate recurrent fires, such as the positive correlation in parameters, Shannon indices, species richness and equitability for treatments in A3 (Control), A2 ( Fire 15 years ago). In general, the occurrence of fire in a Cerrado transforms structural patterns, suggesting interference in the rates of diversity, composition, richness and distribution of species, resulting in considerable changes to the parameters evaluated in the time outlined for this research. When addressing the effects of fire in a native Cerrado area, this research highlights the importance of evaluating the vegetation and soils of these areas. The work highlighted the need for studies on the effects of fire in the Cerrado Biome, together with the evaluation of all components that involve this agent, with the aim of establishing behavioral patterns, such as establishing preventive methodologies.

The recovery of degraded areas with native vegetation is foreseen in international and national commitments, in addition to being a requirement of the environmental laws in the country. However, this possibility of recovery under the law, must be used as a justification for destroying or destroying existing ecosystems never. In the federal legal field, the Native Vegetation Protection Law is one of the main environmental laws for the protection of forests and other forms of vegetation. In addition, this law establishes that it is up to the states to implement the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA), with rules and specificities, so that the process of regularization of environmental liabilities takes place. In this sense, the situation of some states of the analysis was sought with their PRA, with emphasis on the states Acre, Bahia, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rondônia and Pará, where they are already regularized and implemented. In addition, in view of the use and dissemination of technologies and tools to support the protection of native vegetation, this study was created in partnership between Embrapa and the Ministry of the Environment, to assist in the restoration of native vegetation. Through the application of bio as the best tool with 25 questions sent to 3000 registered users, it was evaluated which ones are used and how the tool with the greatest number of species and recovery experiences can still be added.

Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) are structural composites produced by gluing all veneers arranged parallel to grain in the longer direction of the structure. This configuration gives the product strength, good dimensional stability, as well as products with unlimited dimensions. Citric acid is a substance derived from citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons that has been used as an adhesive on wood panels, due to its good properties of adhesive bonds, the so-called ester bonds. Thus, studies on the evaluation of the physical and mechanical properties of LVL panels bonded with citric acid are of great importance to contribute to the viability of this product in Brazil, aiming at its production at commercial levels. The objective of the present work was to analyze the production feasibility and the physical and mechanical properties of LVL made with citric acid adhesive, and to compare these properties with those of LVL panels produced with synthetic adhesive. Data used as comparison were provided by Del Menezzi (2018). To produce LVL, Pinus taeda sliced veneers were used, with an adhesive spread rate of 134 g/m2. Three different treatments were used (T1: citric acid; T2: citric acid and resin - MUF; T3: resin -MUF), in a four-step pressing program. As a result of the data analysis, the LVL panels composed exclusively with melamine-urea-formaldehyde presented the best average values for all physical and mechanical properties, however, the panels with citric acid presented shear strength of the glue line with a value higher than minimum requirement of the European standard EN314 (2004) proving the existence of internal cohesion between citric acid and wood. In this way, despite the superior properties of LVL panels bonded exclusively with melamine-urea-formaldehyde, it is possible to produce LVL panels bonded with citric acid

This research aimed to describe and analyze, in the period from 2005 to 2021, the mortality rates, recruitment and growth in carbon stock of the woody community and a group of 3 species (D. miscolobium, P. pubescens and T. vulgaris) with potential for energy production in the cerrado sensu stricto, established after having their original vegetation removed by selective logging with reduced impact in 2006. The results showed that the 15 years period was sufficient for the woody vegetation to recover in carbon stock, influenced by high recruitment rates and low mortality in all areas assigned to treatments. The research also aimed to evaluate the applicability of the use of RGB camera images aboard Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), using the Structure for Motion (SfM) approach, in the construction of a mathematical model that allows estimating the aboveground biomass (AGB) in an area of cerrado sensu stricto of the Cerrado biome. It was possible to generate a normalized Canopy Height Model (CHM) by subtracting the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) from the Digital Surface Model (DSM). Height metrics were extracted from the CHM and an ordinary least squares regression model was fitted to estimate AGB using data from 21 field sample plots (20 m x 50 m). The fitted model (AGB = - 2,73 - 0,54 . 𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑀𝐴𝐷 𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸 + 2,56 . 𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑃99 + ε, with R² = 0,65 and RMSE% = 18 % was used to map AGB from RPA data collected in the sampled area (2.1 ha) and the entire imaged area (10.4 ha) of cerrado sensu stricto. The model estimated for the area a mean value of 25 ( −+) 6.4 Mg ha-1 for AGB and 12.5 ( −+) 0.8 Mg ha-1 for C. These values are consistent with those obtained by field data from the forest inventory. For the total area imaged by the RPA, the estimated total AGB was 24.6 Mg ha-1. The model showed potential for extrapolation to other areas with similar structure.

The objective of this study was to morphologically characterize seeds, seedlings and the ornamental potential of Cerrado species, as well as to analyze the feasibility of the transplant technique of seedlings in the cultivation of seedlings in a nursery, and to evaluate the effect of different substrates on development and quality of seedlings of these species, under nursery conditions. In the experiment, 7 species native to the Cerrado were used. Initially, the length, width, thickness and dry mass of the seeds were measured. Then, the seeds were placed to germinate in Petri dishes and stored in BODs. The seedlings produced in the laboratory were transplanted into recipients with substrates in the nursery. The substrates used were Red Latosol of the Cerrado (RLC) and Commercial Black Soil (CBS). The containers were arranged on top of 3 iron benches, with 14 replicates per bench per treatment, totaling 84 experimental units (EU) per species. At 70, 140 and 210 days after transplanting (DAT) data were collected regarding Height (h), Number of Leaves (NL), Number of Branches (NB), Number of Dead Plants (NDP), Number of Live Plants (NLP), Number of Closed Flowers (NCF), Number of Open Flowers (NOF), Collect Diameter (CD), Aerial Dry Mass (ADM), Root Dry Mass (RDM) and Total Dry Mass (TDM). To evaluate the quality of seedlings, the Dickson Quality Index (DQI) was used. The sum of scores for all species evaluated was above 60 points, categorized with maximum ornamental potential. The species with the highest average seed length were Vochysia elliptica (TMCSS) (45.95 mm), Vochysia elliptica (CSS) (39.39 mm), Zeyheria montana (27.82 mm) and Jacaranda cuspidifolia (19.42 mm), and all differed from each other (p<0.05). The seeds of the species Calliandra dysantha, Lychnophora ericoides, V. elliptica (CSS) and V. elliptica (TMCSS) were classified with the elongated shape, and the seeds of the species Z. montana, J. cuspidifolia and Jacaranda ulei with the flat shape. The dry mass of the seeds was inversely proportional to the mortality rate for the species C. dysantha, L. ericoides, J. ulei, J. cuspidifolia and Z. montana. Lessingianthus fonsecae was the one that grew the most in height and was the only one that produced inflorescences, mainly in the RLC. The seedlings of J. ulei, J. cuspidifolia, L. ericoides and Z. montana presented better quality index when produced in the CBS, and the seedlings of C. dysantha and L. fonsecae when produced in the RLC. It was concluded that all species showed maximum ornamental potential. The seedling transplant technique was viable for the production of seedlings, mainly for the ornamental species of the Cerrado with heavier seeds. And, most Cerrado species showed better development performance and better seedling quality index when produced in CBS.

The Amazon region holds a high stock of timber and non-timber forest resources and encompasses one third of the world's tropical forests. However, this region is under constant anthropic pressure, especially from deforestation, forest degradation by selective logging and fire. Sustainable forest management, which enables the use of forest resources with low impacts on the forest and biodiversity, is an alternative to deforestation and for the conservation of tropical forests. In recent years, the Brazilian Government began the process of granting public forests for the implementation of low-impact forest management, aiming at the use, conservation and sustainable use of these forests in the Amazon. However, the construction of skid trails, forest roads and wood storage yards are the main challenges for reducing forest impacts or disturbances in the implementation of reduced impact forest management in tropical forests. In the present study, field data were used to evaluate the planning and execution of forest infrastructure in a forest management area that has been implemented by the concessionaire company CEMAL Ltda, in the Caxiuanã National Forest, in the state of Pará. Complementarily, alternative roads and skid trails were developed adopting the Tomlin Tobler and Spanning Tree models, used for comparative analyzes between the different options for building forest infrastructure in the study area. The results of this research indicate that the density of skid trails and forest roads produced by the Tomlin Tobler model presented the best results considering the economic and environmental aspects of the study area. The application of forest infrastructure planning models can effectively contribute to the mitigation of impacts and the reduction of forest disturbances caused by the activity of selective logging in tropical forests, making forest management more economically and ecologically sustainable.

This work aimed to analyze the accuracy of volumetric estimates in areas of corporate forest management in the Brazilian Amazon. The data used comes from the pre-exploratory forest inventory and from the cubage in a logged during the exploratory phase of thirteen forest management units, located in five different conservation units, totaling approximately sixty-six thousand trees, distributed in ten commercial botanical genera. The information provided comes from the Chain of Custody System (SCC) of the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB). To achieve this goal, the study was divided into two chapters. The first dealt with analyzing the discrepancies between the volumes of commercial timber estimated by the forest inventory and that harvested during the harvesting phase, in different areas under concession for sustainable forest management. According to the statistical analyses, there is a difference in the commercial volume estimated by the forest inventory in relation to the commercial volume measured in the logged, independent of the genus and the managed area. The second chapter aimed at adjusting and proposing ratio models, combining variables from the forest inventory and logged, in order to obtain greater accuracy in the estimates. The analyses demonstrate that the ratio models, using the mixed model approach, should be used in sustainable forest management as a way to obtain more accurate estimates. The results generated in this study show important practices to be considered and used in the search for improved volumetric estimates applied in sustainable forest management activities in the Brazilian Amazon.

The cities are in constant transformation to attend the population necessities. However, the change of native vegetation to urban infrastructure increases the land surface temperature (LST) that is related with varying environment and public health problems. So, this thesis aimed to investigate the relationship between Brasília urban vegetation and the LST and produce information to assist the management practices to reduce thermic discomfort. The thesis was structured in four chapters. In the Chapter I, we evaluated the spatiotemporal relationship between LST and vegetation cover and built-up cover in the interval of 20 years, using Landsat 5 TM (Thematic Mapper) and Landsat 8 OLI (Operational Land Imager) and TIRS (Thermal Infrared Sensor) images. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and LST had stronger correlation, mainly in springer and summer which were the seasons with highest LST values. The temperature showed significant increasing trend over the years. The Chapter II was developed to identify the contribution of vegetation metrics in the environment cooling. The region with shrub did not influence in decrease of seasonality surface temperature. The trees had stronger correlation with the cooling due to cover and edge patches that influenced the shading and evapotranspiration. The spatial error model (SEM) showed potential in prediction of LST in unit analyses of 120 to 480 m, using composition and configuration metrics from urban trees. The Chapter III approached methods to identify individual urban trees using canopy height model (CHM) produced with LiDAR data. The CHM was smoothed using mean and gaussian filter and applied local maximum (LM) algorithm to individual tree detection. The 5x5 moving windows filter and 5x5 LM window were the best algorithm to individual tree detection in 9 of the 29 sample units with R² of 0.86 and Sxy(%) 31.15. In the Chapter IV, we investigated the effects of tridimensional variables of urban tree and building on the LST seasonality. The percent cover and edged density metrics of patches and mean height and maximum height of trees showed negative effects on the temperature. The composition and configuration metrics contributed to increase the temperature, however, the buildings height contributes to the cooling around. The buildings height was one of the variables with great importance in the variance of Random Forest model. As a general consideration, we noted that urban vegetation management has to be conducted considering the seasonal of surface temperature. To improve thermal comfort, it is important to increase the percent tree cover compared to shrub vegetation, patches with irregular shapes and composed of tall trees, considering that tall buildings also contributed to thermal comfort.

In this study, we assessed impacts of deforestation and climate changes (separately and combined) on streamflows in the Cerrado biome, Brazil, based on a comprehensive analysis of field data acquired between 1985 and 2018. Complementarily, we projected a future deforestation and climate scenario up to 2050 and predicted their impacts on surface water in the study area. We observed that direct impacts by large-scale deforestation oriented to the production of irrigated agricultural commodities have more significantly impacted river flows than climate changes. We estimated an average decrease of 8.7% and 6.7% on the streamflow due to deforestation and climate changes, respectively. Most of the observed changes (56.7%) were due to land use and land cover changes and occurred in the last decades. Climate and land use and land cover changes combined were responsible for a total surface water reduction of -19,718 m³/s within the Cerrado watersheds. By assuming the current deforestation rates, we predicted a total water reduction of 23,653 m³/s by 2050, equivalent to a decrease of 33.9% of the river flows in the study region. It will cause severe streamflow discontinuity of many rivers and strongly affect agricultural and electric power production and water supply during dry seasons in that region.