Precipitation dynamics in forests and deforestation areas during the dry season in the Central-Eastern Amazon: a case study in the Xingu basin

The precipitation regimen in the Xingu watershed is an important aspect of the Amazon regional climate. In this paper, we analyze trends and extreme precipitation events in forested and deforested areas for the Xingu watershed, eastern Amazon. The estimated data was validated using rain gauges and statistical methods were applied to evaluate trends in precipitation patterns and spatialize the Sen's slope to provide insights for water resources management in the region for the dry season. The analysis employs Point-Biserial correlation tests to assess the association between binary forest cover (1 for forest, 0 for deforested) and various precipitation indexes. All stations with significant Mann-Kendall test showed decreasing precipitation, and the largest precipitation reduction trend found was -0.43 mm per month for station 151003. The results of the RPB correlation suggest that forest cover is more strongly associated with the persistence and intensity of wet periods than with isolated extreme precipitation events, shedding light on the interaction between precipitation patterns and forest dynamics.