Monitoring Heat Spots in Amazonian Settlements

This paper analyzes the spatial and temporal distribution of hotspots in the state of Acre considering the modalities of settlement projects created by the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform - INCRA as well as the proximity of these projects to the BR 317 highway also known as the Interoceanic Highway. This highway was paved in Acre to serve as a subsidy to the Pacific markets thus enabling the circulation of products and services by improving access to previously remote areas. However with the advent of the highway environmental problems became frequent. The use of techniques such as slash and burn to prepare land for agriculture by settlers has become the basis of family farming making settlement projects the places of greatest detection of hotspots. Burning is widely used in the region intentionally by small farmers to clear land after deforestation and/or by cattle ranchers to raise and maintain pastures. In this sense hotspots derived from satellite data analysis have been excellent indicators of accuracy.