Doutorado
Doutorado
Pedro Fialho Cordeiro. Tipificação dos ambientes aquáticos brasileiros: bases para a avaliação da integridade ecológica. Início: 2019. Tese (Doutorado em Análise e Modelagem de Sistemas Ambientais) - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Pedro Fialho Cordeiro. Tipificação dos ambientes aquáticos brasileiros: bases para a avaliação da integridade ecológica. Início: 2019. Tese (Doutorado em Análise e Modelagem de Sistemas Ambientais) - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Associate Professor
Department of Geography - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Research Projects Leader
2024 - Environmental influences and anthropogenic pressures at multiple spatial scales on watersheds in Minas Gerais
Description: Anthropogenic pressures on watersheds affect and compromise the environmental quality of watercourses. These pressures can be assessed at multiple spatial scales (e.g., entire watershed, sub-watershed segments, riparian zones). Additionally, the structure of geodynamic landscape factors (i.e., climate, geology, and topography) also influences the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of fluvial environments. Therefore, effective water resource management requires applied and integrated approaches, with strong theoretical and methodological contributions from Physical Geography. The objective of this project is to evaluate the environmental influences and anthropogenic pressures at multiple spatial scales on watersheds in Minas Gerais, aiming to support improvements in water resource management within the state and, indirectly, contribute to advancing this topic at the national level. The methodological approach is based on integrated applications of Physical Geography, including: the use of geospatial tools for environmental studies, the analysis of landscape geodynamics and land use/land cover change, the assessment of hydro-geomorphological features in fluvial systems, and field-based evaluation of water quality and ecological processes. The results of this research are expected to support environmental agencies and policymakers in improving public policies related to water resources, particularly regarding: 1) territorial planning in areas with conflicts between water demand and availability; 2) the development of biomonitoring programs for the state’s watercourses; 3) the strengthening of urban planning policies focused on the implementation and maintenance of green areas for the protection of hydro-geomorphological systems; 4) the creation of intervention scenarios and the proposal of guidelines for the integrated management of land use in watersheds and riparian zones. Research Productivity Grant – Level PQ-2 (CNPq)
Research Lines: Geospatial data analysis, spatial patterns and biodiversity, pressures on water resources, land use and land cover dynamics.
Funding:
2023 - Prioritization of Areas for Biodiversity Protection in the Upper São Francisco and Upper Paraná Basins
Description: Freshwater ecosystems provide a wide range of essential ecosystem services for human populations, including water supply for consumption, agricultural irrigation, and hydroelectric power generation. At the same time, these ecosystems are among the most threatened by anthropogenic activities due to their historical proximity to human settlements and, more recently, the impacts of climate change. The biodiversity loss caused by such activities affects the ecological processes upon which these ecosystem services depend, thereby harming not only the ecosystems themselves but also the human populations that rely on them. This project aims to identify priority areas for conservation and ecological restoration in the Upper São Francisco and Upper Paraná river regions, to maximize the efficiency of biodiversity conservation efforts for lotic ecosystems at the regional scale. To achieve this, predictive models will be employed using remote monitoring data and existing regional databases. These databases should include information on local environmental conditions as well as the biodiversity of benthic macroinvertebrates. This taxonomic group has been frequently used in ecological studies in the region over the past decades, yielding robust results for water quality monitoring. The expected outcome is to provide managers and decision-makers with a tool to prioritize the protection of areas most important for maintaining biodiversity in the Upper São Francisco and Upper Paraná regions.
Research Lines: Geospatial data analysis, spatial patterns and biodiversity, pressures on water resources, land use and land cover dynamics.
Funding:
2022 - GLOBAL-RIO: Eco-hydraulic Assessment of Urban River Restoration under Global Change Scenarios
Antes
Depois
Description: Watercourses and associated ecosystems are severely affected by the impacts of surrounding urbanization. When these environments are well-preserved, they can provide a variety of ecosystem services—such as aesthetic enhancement, improved air quality, recreational spaces, climate change mitigation, and water supply, among others—even within metropolitan areas. However, since most urban streams in Brazil are heavily degraded, there are few locations where it is possible to: (1) evaluate the potential provision of ecosystem services in relatively well-preserved urban parks, and (2) assess whether stream restoration and the creation of linear parks can also support ecosystem service provision. In this context, the objective of this project is to evaluate the potential of urban parks that contain headwaters and streams currently in good ecological condition to provide ecosystem services. The methodological approach will combine the use of the Urban Stream Assessment System (UsAs) and hydraulic modeling to assess provisioning, regulating, and cultural services, ecological processes, and urban biodiversity. The sampling design will include: three urban parks restored under the Drenurbs/PBH program; three parks located in consolidated urban areas; three urban parks with high environmental quality; and three preserved parks in peri-urban areas outside the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region (RMBH). The methodological tool also incorporates a scoring system that yields an overall quality classification for both the streams and the associated parks. Given the innovative nature of this initiative, the results of this research may support the establishment of environmental protection areas within urban zones with low levels of urban impact, or—more innovatively, within the Brazilian context—the implementation of urban stream restoration projects aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Research Lines: Geospatial data analysis, pressures on water resources, land use and land cover dynamics.
Funding:
2022 - 2025 - Identification of Potential Areas of Irregular Water Resource Use in Watersheds of the Upper São Francisco Region
Description: Estimating water demand within a watershed is a fundamental principle for the rational planning of water resources. However, many users withdraw water without proper registration, which can lead to conflicts over resource use and necessitate public intervention. The primary objective of this project is to develop a robust protocol for the integrated use of geotechnologies (i.e., satellite imagery, maps, statistical data, and field-collected information) to monitor actual water demand in the watersheds of Minas Gerais and to identify inconsistencies between water availability and consumption.
The pilot study will be conducted in four watersheds currently experiencing water use conflicts in the Upper São Francisco Basin: Ribeirão Ribeiro Bonito (Caeté/Barão de Cocais), Ribeirão Camarão (Mateus Leme), Ribeirão Paciência (Pará de Minas and Florestal), Rio do Pião (Bom Despacho). Additionally, four neighboring watersheds will be analyzed. The methodology will incorporate satellite imagery, land use maps, data on surface and groundwater permits, real water demand estimates, conflict diagnostics, and the formulation of a robust protocol to support the development of an application enabling widespread implementation of the proposed methodology. Expected outcomes include: Development of robust protocols and procedures to support water resource monitoring and enforcement; Identification of potential irregular water uses in the studied watersheds; Creation of technical foundations for an application that can be deployed at scale throughout the state of Minas Gerais. The results of this project will support improvements in the efficiency of water use permit evaluations and in optimizing enforcement efforts against unauthorized water withdrawals.
Research Lines: Geospatial data analysis, pressures on water resources, land use and land cover dynamics.
Funding:
2021 - 2024 - Anthropogenic Interventions and Environmental Quality Changes in Watersheds in Minas Gerais
Description: The structuring of geodynamic landscape factors—such as climate, geology, and topography—directly influences land use and land cover. Together, these factors affect both the quality and quantity of surface water, as well as the morphology and physical structure of aquatic ecosystems. All of these spatial scales, in turn, influence the composition and structure of aquatic bioindicator assemblages. Geodynamic factors can be divided into relatively stable geomorphological controls and climate-related aspects, the latter of which have been increasingly disturbed by anthropogenic activities, particularly over the past 50 years. Human activities are also dynamic and can rapidly transform landscapes. These transformations can have negative impacts on ecosystems—such as the removal of native vegetation for agriculture, pasture, or urbanization—but also positive outcomes through environmental restoration programs aimed at improving the socio-environmental conditions of urban rivers. In this context, global changes (climate and land use/land cover) are key variables for understanding the current configuration of fluvial systems, fluvial ecomorphology, the structuring of aquatic assemblages, and, consequently, assessing environmental quality in watersheds. This project aims to advance the understanding of how geodynamic aspects, land use, and cover across various spatial extents (e.g., watersheds, sub-basin reaches, riparian zones) and temporal scales influence environmental conditions in watersheds within the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes. The project will employ approaches that integrate geobiophysical and social systems, with a particular focus on geographic and ecological aspects, and will involve undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students within national and international research networks. The results of this research will provide valuable input for environmental agencies and resource managers, enabling the use of modern environmental assessment tools to inform the formulation of public policies and enhance water resource planning and management in Brazil.
Research Lines: Geospatial data analysis, spatial patterns and biodiversity, pressures on water resources, land use and land cover dynamics.
Funding:
2020 - 2021 - WebSIG Platform for Mapping, Analysis, Dissemination, and Decision Support in Addressing the Covid-19 Pandemic
Description: This project aims to develop a mapping and information platform with a primary focus on identifying socio-epidemiologically vulnerable groups in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as tracking public policies to combat the disease at the state, municipal, and intra-municipal levels in Minas Gerais. Given that COVID-19 is a novel disease with high epidemic potential and impacts populations with varying capacities to respond and adapt to prevention and control measures, we believe that mitigating its effects requires the design of more targeted public health policies. For such policies to be developed rapidly and effectively, it is essential to rely on robust information systems containing reliable data on the social, economic, and spatial characteristics of the population, the availability of public facilities and services, and updated information on contagion and recovery trends. This initiative proposes to monitor the progression of the epidemic in Minas Gerais and enhance the production of micro-scale information by integrating population data (mainly from IBGE surveys), epidemiological data (provided by municipal and state health departments and the Ministry of Health), and data on healthcare facilities in the state. The platform, hosted by UFMG, aims to serve as a reference for public managers and healthcare networks in Minas Gerais. It will offer online access to reports and maps (WebGIS), and the information produced will be interoperable, allowing for visualization on other public information platforms. The outputs will include analytical reports, maps, and spatial databases. The observatory comprises leading researchers in the fields of sociology, demography, geography, and environmental modeling.
Research Lines: Geospatial data analysis.
Funding:
2019 - 2020 - Integration of the Unified Registry (Cadastro Único) with the National Address Registry for Statistical Purposes through the Modeling of a Spatial Database
Description: The Cadastro Único for Federal Government Social Programs (CadÚnico) was established to create a unified database that supports the formulation and management of public policies targeting populations in situations of social vulnerability. However, the management of this database still requires improvement, particularly regarding its georeferencing capabilities. Meanwhile, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) has been developing and refining its National Address Registry for Statistical Purposes (Cadastro Nacional de Endereços para Fins Estatísticos – CNEFE), which currently underpins all of its household surveys by georeferencing every unit visited by IBGE. The objective of this project is to enhance the CadÚnico database by integrating it with the CNEFE, through the development of a systematic protocol for identifying and matching records between the two datasets. This protocol will enable cross-referencing and allow for continuous updates. The expected outcomes include the improvement of the CadÚnico database and the potential adoption of the CNEFE data model by other government agencies.
Research Lines: Geospatial data analysis.
Funding:
2018 - 2022 - RECURB - Evaluation of Urban Stream Restoration Projects in Southeastern Brazil from Social, Ecological, and Water Quality Perspectives
Description: The environmental restoration of watercourses in urban areas is a relatively recent approach in Brazil, although it has been implemented in developed countries since the 1970s. The Drenurbs Program, launched in Belo Horizonte in 2003, is one of the first urban stream restoration initiatives in Brazil and has produced practical outcomes in five watersheds. Implementing similar approaches in the Brazilian context presents significant challenges, as urban streams are often canalized and repurposed to support road infrastructure and wastewater conveyance systems. This project aims to evaluate the environmental restoration interventions conducted between 2006 and 2008 in the Baleares, Primeiro de Maio, and Nossa Senhora da Piedade streams in Belo Horizonte. These interventions introduced innovative solutions for urban macro-drainage based on stream rehabilitation principles—for example, improving water quality through wastewater collection, stabilizing and revegetating streambanks, and relocating residents from high-risk areas—while also integrating the projects with the urban road network. Among the five restoration projects implemented, these were the most cost-effective. The project will assess Water quality (physical and chemical parameters), benthic macroinvertebrate communities as bioindicators, and Social perception and satisfaction through structured interviews (surveys) with residents in the respective watersheds. The results will be compared with those from a prior research project, Assessment of Stream Restoration Projects in Urban Areas: a case study of the Drenurbs Program in Belo Horizonte (2007–2009), conducted by the same research team. This project includes water quality and biomonitoring data collected from minimally impacted areas. Given the innovative nature of this initiative in Belo Horizonte, the outcomes of this research may inform the implementation and evaluation of future technically and financially viable urban stream restoration projects in Brazil.
Research Lines: Geospatial data analysis, spatial patterns and biodiversity, pressures on water resources, land use and land cover dynamics.
Funding:
2017 - 2020 - Influences of Land Use and Land Cover Legacy Effects on Aquatic Ecosystems in the Cerrado
Description: The structuring of geodynamic landscape factors—such as climate, geology, and topography—can influence land use and land cover, which in turn affect the availability of physical habitats and the structure of resident aquatic assemblages. While geodynamic factors tend to be relatively stable over time, anthropogenic activities are dynamic and can transform the landscape within short timeframes (e.g., 40 years). In this context, land use and land cover are key variables for understanding the current configuration of physical habitats and the structuring of aquatic communities, and consequently, for assessing the environmental quality of watersheds. However, due to the rapid pace of historical land-use changes, it is challenging to determine the extent to which past land-use and cover conditions continue to influence present-day ecosystem characteristics. This project aims to elucidate how the legacy effects of past land use and land cover influence environmental conditions in watersheds. The approach involves a multitemporal analysis of satellite imagery and local measurements of physical habitats, as well as the diversity of benthic macroinvertebrate and fish assemblages, from the perspective of using these groups as bioindicators.
Research Lines: Geospatial data analysis, spatial patterns and biodiversity, pressures on water resources, land use and land cover dynamics.
Funding:
2016-2018: Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Watersheds of the Cerrado Biome
Description: The main objective of this project is to assess and quantify land use and land cover changes over the past 50 years in five watersheds within the Cerrado biome, and to contribute to the understanding of the relationships between land use/cover and environmental quality in watersheds.
Research Lines: Geospatial data analysis, land use and land cover dynamics.
Funding:
