A avaliação do risco da avifauna em aeródromos públicos: um estudo de caso do Aeroporto Presidente Itamar Franco

Abstract

Wildlife hazard at aerodromes is the potential risk of an aircraft colliding with species, soil or airspace. Across the world, the rate of collisions of this nature is increasing. Thus, the uncontrolled presence of animals in the vicinity of runways is one of the risks that aircraft face during their operations, especially during landing and take-off, when there is a greater possibility of collisions. Because of this, it is necessary to implement actions of wildlife control and management that should effect the reduction or even the interruption of collisions in aerodromes. In order to do so, a risk assessment of the fauna associated with the aerodrome must be carried out in order to identify problem species and to direct the application of resources to control the species that represent greater risk for the airport operations. Considering the greater risk of collision of aircraft with birds, the present work sought to evaluate the risk of avifauna to Presidente Itamar Franco Airport, a strategically located airportin the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais and that serves the region with scheduled flights for passengers and with infrastructure for air cargo logistics. In order to identify the avifauna associated with this airport, a bibliographic survey was carried out, which resulted in 185 species registered in the year 2001, before the construction of the airport, and work sessions on field lasting twelve months, from 2015 to 2016, which resulted in the registration of 130 species. In the same period from 2015 to 2016, potential sources of avifauna attraction were identified at both the airport and the ASA, which are mainly represented by food sources to birds. In addition, through remote sensing and the application of the NDVI vegetation index, the temporal evolution of plant fragmentation in the ASA of the Presidente Itamar Franco Airport was evaluated, which can strongly influence the diversity and behavior of the bird species in the region. Finally, with the application of methodologies proposed in the Brazilian legislation, the problem species were identified, a total of eight, and, from this information, actions were proposed that will contribute to the control of these species.