Member of the Pará River Basin State Committee (CBH-Pará) (2002 to 2009). Member of the Federal Committee of the São Francisco River Basin (CBH-SF) (2002 to 2007). Coordinator of the technical team of environmental investigations at the Attorney General's Office (PGJMG) - Public Ministry of the State of Minas Gerais (MPMG), through the Regional Coordination of the Environmental Prosecutions Offices of Alto do Rio São Francisco (CBALTOSF) (2002 to 2007). Professor at the State University of Minas Gerais (UEMG), Campus Divinópolis (2001 to 2009). Representative of the Brazilian Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering (ABES) at the State Council for Environmental Policy (COPAM-MG) - Collegiate Regional Unit of Alto São Francisco (URCSF) (2008 to 2015). Has experience in the area of Forest Science, with emphasis on Silviculture, Agroforestry and Forest Restoration. He currently works as an Associate Professor at the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) Campus Florestal.
EDUCATION
Graduated in Forest Engineering (1986) and Master in Soils and Plant Nutrition (1991), from the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA); PhD in Forestry Science (1996), from the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV).
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Forestry, agroforestry, forest restoration
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Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Biomass and microbial activity under different forest covers Rafael Malfitano Braga, Fabrizio Furtado de Sousa, Nelson Venturin, Francisco de Assis Braga Cerne, 2016 RESUMO Neste estudo avaliou-se a fertilidade do solo, a biomassa e atividade microbiológica do solo sob coberturas florestais de Eucalyptus grandis, Eucalyptus pilularis, Eucalyptus cloeziana e Corymbia maculata; Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis, com 40 anos de idade, e um fragmento de Floresta Estacional Semidecidual, localizados no campus da Universidade Federal de Lavras. Em amostras de solo coletadas na camada de 0-5 cm foram determinados parâmetros de fertilidade, a respiração basal e o carbono de biomassa microbiana. Os resultados mostraram que as espécies E. grandis e E. cloeziana mantiveram teores de carbono de biomassa microbiana mais elevados dentre os ecossistemas avaliados e iguais àqueles observados sob a floresta nativa. Em contraste, o solo sob pinus apresentou os menores índices microbiológicos. Sob C. maculata e E. pilularis os teores foram intermediários para este parâmetro. A respiração basal de todos os ecossistemas foi igual. O nível de fertilidade foi extremanente baixo sob todos os tipos de cobertura vegetal avaliados.
Impact of changes in land use in the flow of the Pará River Basin, MG Evandro L. Rodrigues, Marcos A. T. Elmiro, Francisco de A. Braga, Claudia M. Jacobi, Rafael D. Rossi Revista Brasileira De Engenharia Agricola E Ambiental, 2015 Plant cover plays an essential role in the maintenance and balance of the hydrological cycle, performing functions in the control of water availability, which guarantee flow permanence. The use of mathematical models is an alternative to represent the hydrological system and help in the understanding of phenomena involving the variables of the water cycle, in order to anticipate and predict impacts from potential changes in land use. In the present study, the hydrological model SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) was used to analyse the dynamics of flow and water flow in the Pará River Basin, Minas Gerais, Brazil, aiming to evaluate the impact caused by changes in land use in water availability. The adjusted model was assessed by the coefficient of efficiency of Nash-Sutcliffe (between -0.057 to -0.059), indicating high correlation and coefficient of residual mass (0.757 to 0.793) and therefore a satisfactory fit. An increase of about 10% in the basin flow was estimated, as a function of changes in land use, when simulating the removal of the original 'Cerrado' vegetation and of the seasonal semideciduous forest for pasture implementation in 38% of the basin.
Physical attributes of distroferric red latosol under four eucalypt species over the long term Rafael Malfitano Braga, Moacir de Souza Dias Junior, Francisco de Assis Braga, Thiago de Paula Protásio Ciencia E Agrotecnologia, 2013 Planted forests have been increasingly highlighted in the Brazilian scenario, maintaining status regarding their environmental effects, among them those related with soils. The objectives of this work were to evaluate and to compare the physical attributes of a typic distroferric Red Latosol under Eucalyptus cloeziana, E. grandis, E. Pilularis and Corymbia maculata coverage, 37 years after being planted at the Federal University of Lavras campus. The soil profiles were sampled down to 1 m depth in order to analyze their particle-size distribution, porosity, structure and water retention. The results were submitted to analysis of variance, Scott-Knott multiple means comparison test, correlations and linear regression. The profiles presented appropriated soil physical conditions to provide good plant development. The bulk density and microporosity increased in depth while the total pore volume, macroporosity and aggregates stability decreased in depth. The soil profiles under E. cloeziana and C. maculata coverage presented lower density, more pores, are more structured, present lower water retention capability and lower water availability than the soil profiles under E. grandis and E. pilularis.
Childhood obesity in children of public schools: Prevalence and consequences for flexibility, explosive strength and speed Marcela de Melo Fernandes, F. D. A. Braga Revista Da Educacao Fisica, 2012 The prevalence of obesity has significantly grown in the recent years, becoming a serious Public Health issue. The aim of the present study was to analyze the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children aged six to ten years in public schools in the municipality of Formiga, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, checking whether excessive weight interferes with physical performance, comparing obese children to eutrophic ones. The research was developed in three public schools, with a sample of 357 students. Tests were performed to evaluate flexibility, explosive strength, speed, corporal weight and height. The study classified 76.19% children as eutrophic, 11.48% as obese, 6.44% as overweight, 2.8% as underweight and 3.08% at risk of being underweight. The results of flexibility, explosive strength and speed tests indicated that overweight and obese children have poorer performance when compared with eutrophic ones. Key-words: Children obesity. Physical performance. Physical education.
Air quality and number of hospital admissions for respiratory disease among children in the city of Divinópolis, Brazil Alysson Rodrigo Fonseca, Flávia Faria Bueno, Francisco Assis Braga, Paulo Sérgio Carneiro Miranda Acta Scientiarum Health Sciences, 2010 Respiratory problems represent one of the main morbidity causes in children in practically all of Brazil, with air pollution being one of the chief causes. This work was intended to evaluate the association between the number of hospital admissions for respiratory problems in children and the concentration of suspended particulate material in suspension in the town of Divinopolis, Minas Gerais State, in the period from 2000 to 2006. The methodology used was that of the descriptive and exploratory non-experimental research, characterizing itself in a retrospective study. It was found that during the investigated period, respiratory disturbances reached the top position in hospitalizations in public hospitals, corresponding to the main cause of admission and representing one third of all admissions over that period. The analysis of the data stressed an inverse ratio between the concentration of particulates in air and meteorological change. The data show further that there is a direct relationship between the concentration of particulates in the atmosphere, air quality and the epidemiologic picture, the latter pictured by the number of hospital admissions of children for respiratory diseases.
