Analysis of burns in areas of the Xavante Pimentel Barbosa indigenous land

Abstract

Brazil is a country with a prevalent tropical climate and has approximately 25% of its territory under the Cerrado biome, this geographic space being inhabited by many indigenous peoples. In the eastern region of the state of Mato Grosso, the Xavante people (A’uwe) contain nine indigenous lands (TI), with the Pimentel Barbosa TI being the largest in area (328,966 hectares). The Xavante people have a long relationship between fire and vegetation, however, the environmental risk has increased considerably in recent years due to the proximity of the agricultural sector and the incorrect management of these productive areas. Given this context, this study aims to analyze the occurrence of fires during the period from 2008 to 2019 in the Pimentel Barbosa TI. Data manipulation took place using the ArcMap 10.5 computational application considering Datum SIRGAS 2.000. Each kernel map in the raster extent was reclassified (reclassify algorithm) to identify burned and unburned areas. The aforementioned reclassified maps of each period studied were integrated by the combine algorithm, enabling the creation of two rasterized maps, which were later vectorized referring to the spatialization of the occurrence of fires and the average annual cycle of fires in the areas of the Pimentel Barbosa TI for a period of 12 years. During the training period, there were cycles of periods in which there was an increase and subsequent reduction in burned areas in the Pimentel Barbosa Indigenous Land (TI), a fact possibly associated with the traditional and conscious use of fire by the Xavante.