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M.L.Leite & J.S.V. Filho 2010. Identification of climatic trends for some localities in the Southern Region of Campos Gerais
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Identification of climatic trends for some localities in the Southern
Region of Campos Gerais and surroundings, State of Parana, Brazil,
through the analysis of historical data of rainfall and temperature
Maysa de Lima Leite 1* & Jorim Sousa das Virgens Filho 2
1 Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa, Av. Carlos
Cavalcanti, 4748, 84.030-900, Paraná, Brazil
2 Departamento de Matemática e Estatística, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa,
Paraná, Brazil
Abstract
This study aimed to assess possible changes in climate localities in the southern region of
Campos Gerais (Fernandes Pinheiro, Lapa, Ponta Grossa), Parana, Brazil. The forest vegetation
occupies 22% of the area of Campos Gerais, including different types and successional stages.
These forests are naturally fragmented, forming isolated groves of various sizes and extensions,
located on the slopes, small depressions or tracks that come in rivers, streams and springs. To
investigate possible changes in climate, daily temperature and precipitation data were analyzed,
by the use of Mann-Kendall test. Data analysis revealed an increase in average and minimum
temperatures in the three localities. For the maximum temperature, the city of Ponta Grossa
showed negative trend, a fact explained by the increase in cloudiness in the region. For the
rainfall data, the city of Ponta Grossa and Fernandes Pinheiro showed a positive trend, while for
the city of Lapa, it was negative.
Keywords :precipitation, temperature, climatic trends
1. Introduction
The climate is characterized by the interaction between various climatic variables, especially
among precipitation and temperature. Both are closely related and these changes may cause
major changes in regional climate. There are few studies on long-term variability of extreme
weather and climate in Brazil and South America. In addition, studies in some regions of Brazil,
or in the rest of South America, have used different methodologies, which does not allows
intercomparisons or geographical integration. The lack of meteorological information of good
quality related to daily series in large areas of Brazil, and the very restricted access to daily
weather information stored in databases of meteorological services, have not allowed
identification of climatic extremes and their variability, especially in tropical South America. To
the South of Brazil and Northern Argentina, the works of Marengo and Camargo (2006) and
Rusticucci and Barrucand (2004) showed negative trends in diurnal temperature range due to
positive trends registered in minimum temperature. They also observed an increased frequency
of hot days in winter. Compared to the air temperature, a larger number of studies of trends in
precipitation have been developed due to the greater availability of data on rainfall than
temperature. Groisman et al. (2005) found positive trends of systematic increases of rainfall and
extremes of rainfall in the subtropical region, in the South and Northeast of Brazil. The authors
considered that the Southeast, since 1940, has shown systematic increases in the frequency of
heavy rainfall, up almost 58% in recent years. This study aimed to examine the climatological
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 (42) 3220 3126 - Fax: +55 (42) 3220 3102
Email address: mleite@uepg.br
Forest Landscapes and Global Change-New Frontiers in Management, Conservation and Restoration. Proceedings of the IUFRO Landscape Ecology
Working Group International Conference, September 21-27, 2010, Bragança, Portugal. J.C. Azevedo, M. Feliciano, J. Castro & M.A. Pinto (eds.)
2010, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Bragança, Portugal.