Author(s)

G. Cruz Santos

Abstract

Construction of the Sobradinho Dam has had a strong environmental impact on the Lower São Francisco Sergipano (“LSFS”) North-East Brazil (“NEB”) region. No detailed studies of the floodplain areas were conducted prior to these changes, and there are thus no records of the floristic and faunal diversity extant in this ecosystem before the dam was built. One of the worst consequences in this region has been the onset of rodent outbreaks in rice crops. The climate in NEB is highly variable, and forecasts predict high temperatures in this semi-arid region. Based on the perspective of farmers who have witnessed these environmental changes and their repercussions, the aim of the present study was to determine the specific characteristics of rodent outbreaks, the rat predators present in the region, the floral diversity in cultivated areas prior to the changes, and the influence of anomalies in sea sur- face temperature (SSTs) on maximum and minimum temperatures in the LSFS in the state of Sergipe between 1978 and 2010, years in which rodent outbreaks occurred

Keywords

‘El Niño’, Brazil, floodplain, Lower San Francisco Sergipano, rodent outbreaks, SOI.