With the use of satellite and technology, Santa Catarina is highlighted in data collection on tropical forests

Photos: FlorestaSC

Precision, technology and management make the forest vegetation survey in Santa Catarina among the most complete in South America. With more than 50 thousand collections, FlorestaSC has already identified 3,329 plant species in the state. The numbers were presented to the State Secretariat for the Environment and Green Economy (Semae), a subsidiary of the program, during a technical visit this week to the Regional University of Blumenau (FURB), responsible for implementing the initiative.

Semae’s deputy secretary, Guilherme Dallacosta, and Semae’s director of Climate, Green Economy, Energy and Environmental Quality, Gabriela Brasil dos Anjos, highlighted the State’s approach to the program and its relevance for the development of public policies. “We have a plurality of environments with high biodiversity in the state. Our territory is 38% covered by native forests, so it is essential that we support initiatives that promote the conservation and restoration of ecosystems to develop and implement public policies”, said the director.

For Furb researchers, this data provides insights into ecological processes, biodiversity patterns and impacts of climate change on forests. According to the professor and program coordinator at Furb, Alexander Christian Vibrans, the information collected by the FlorestaSC program is used by more than 100 universities in Brazil and around the world. “Accurate and up-to-date data on forests is used to guide, in addition to public policies, private sector activities and responsible management practices carried out by rural producers, who seek to ensure that vital ecosystems continue to thrive and are also conserved” , highlights.

Considering the technologies used using data captured by sensors on satellites and data collected by teams in the field, with samples of the plants found deposited in the FURB Herbarium, the researchers’ assessment is that the data is the most accurate in South America.” We can say that Santa Catarina today has the largest database of information on tropical forests in the Americas, with continuous measurement cycles. Santa Catarina’s forests cover 36 thousand square kilometers, with a stock of 184 million tons of carbon. In a 5-year window, there are 11 million additional tons of carbon”, explains Professor Vibrans.

Plant Biodiversity Library

In practice, monitoring is carried out by high-tech satellites that allow capturing high-resolution data processed in the laboratory. Field work is carried out by teams that collect materials to record the history of Santa Catarina’s biodiversity. “All the material that the teams bring to the laboratory is pressed, dried, photographed and stored in the herbarium. Today, we have more than 77 thousand plant samples from all regions of the State. A true library of plant biodiversity in Santa Catarina, all digitized and online”, says the coordinator of the Furb Botany laboratory, André Luís de Gasper.

New acquisitions

The program’s latest acquisitions were a drone with multispectral sensors and LiDAR, a portable spectrophotometer to try to identify samples in the field, using infrared, and a new utility vehicle to assist teams in the field. Measurements are made in 10 plots of 4,000m2 per month in the forests of Santa Catarina, totaling 80 per year. The investments were the result of a partnership between Semae and the Santa Catarina State Research and Innovation Support Foundation (Fapesc) with Furb.

Main numbers of tropical forests in SC

• 54 thousand collections carried out by 2024
• 77 thousand plant samples
• 3,329 native species, among which 680 species are trees
• 38% of Santa Catarina’s forested territory is equivalent to 3.8 million hectares
• Every five years, an additional 11 million tons of carbon are fixed by the state’s total forest cover.

About the Floresta SC Program

FlorestaSC is a program of the Government of the State of Santa Catarina, through the Secretariat for the Environment and Green Economy (Semae), coordinated by the Regional University of Blumenau (FURB).

The program studies the forests and native species that exist in Santa Catarina, generating information applicable in the formulation of public policies for the use and conservation of the state’s forests; economic-ecological zoning for forestry activities in the state; scientific divulgation. Discover the program here: https://www.iff.sc.gov.br/#.