Instrumento de baixo custo para medir temperatura do ar: influência da cobertura vegetal em escala local

Abstract

This study evaluated the effect of vegetation cover on air temperature at a local scale, within the university campus of UFRN, in the city of Natal (RN), Brazil. A low-cost meteorological shelter was developed to protect temperature and humidity sensors, enabling more accurate measurements under different vegetation conditions. Field campaigns were conducted during the winter and spring of 2024 at 19 locations with varying degrees of vegetation cover. Results from the Student’s t-test indicated that, in winter, vegetated areas tended to have lower temperatures compared to urbanized areas, suggesting a moderating effect of vegetation. In spring, however, no significant difference was found between the groups. Despite limitations, such as the short data collection period and the limited number of sampling points, the study highlights the potential of the low-cost shelter as an efficient and accessible tool for environmental monitoring and underscores the importance of vegetation cover in thermal regulation.