**Author details**

Regarding evapotranspiration, the maximum peak of energy is identified in the 9–15‐month period (seasonal mark), occurring between January 2001 and December 2009. It is possible to observe less intense peaks of energy in the period of 5–7 months (January 2001 to March 2002, and December 2009 to March 2010); however, they are not statistically significant. Note that 2002 and 2009 showed the highest values of annual evapotranspiration. Therefore, the action of atmospheric systems, and their influence over meteorological variables (e.g., air tempera‐ ture, wind speed, and air and soil moisture) [47], could have provided conditions that favored the increase of evapotranspirative processes in Atlantic Rainforest remnants considering the

106 Tropical Forests - The Challenges of Maintaining Ecosystem Services while Managing the Landscape

Combining TRMM satellite data and MOD16 algorithm enabled mapping the spatial distri‐ bution and evaluating precipitation and evapotranspiration in São Paulo State, as well as analyzing the temporal dynamics of these variables in Atlantic Rainforest remnants for the period between 2000 and 2010. Generally, the precipitation and evapotranspiration trends (considering both São Paulo State and forest remnants) revealed a strong seasonal pattern, with highest values concentrated in the rainy season (October to March) and lowest values in the

Regarding to São Paulo State, highest values of precipitation and evapotranspiration were found in southern and eastern regions, while lowest values were located in the northern and western portions of the state. The time series analysis showed that monthly averages for precipitation and evapotranspiration were, respectively, ~200 and ~84% higher during the rainy season when compared to the dry season. Considering annual averages, evapotranspi‐

In regard to Atlantic Rainforest remnants, time series analysis showed that during the rainy season precipitation and evapotranspiration were, respectively, ~138 and ~65% higher than those observed during the dry season. In terms of annual averages, evapotranspira‐ tion accounted for ~72% of precipitation, indicating a low hydric production (~28%). Con‐ sidering the entire period, monthly averages of precipitation and evapotranspiration were, respectively, ~12 and ~52% higher than the monthly averages for São Paulo State, which demonstrates the contribution of these remnants to the regional hydrologic regime. The higher amounts of precipitation are observed in the coastal region where most of the rem‐ nants are located and maybe there is an artifact, however if we analyze the evapotranspi‐ ration maps it is possible to note that the evapotranspiration is really low in the western part of Sao Paulo state due the presence of large areas of agriculture and pasture and a reduced number of forest remnants. Analysis of wavelet transform for precipitation and evapotranspiration time series in Atlantic Forest remnants showed that the main oscilla‐ tion mode is concentrated between 8 and 16 months, revealing a seasonal or intra‐annual behavior. It is important to note that the wavelets analysis allowed to conduct a more com‐ prehensive evaluation of the behavior of precipitation and evapotranspiration through

intraseasonal scale between 2001/2002 and 2009/2010 periods.

ration corresponded to ~53% of precipitation in São Paulo State.

**4. Conclusions**

dry season (April to September).

Gabriel de Oliveira1,2\*, Elisabete C. Moraes1 , Nathaniel A. Brunsell2 , Yosio E. Shimabukuro1 , Luiz E.O.C. Aragão1,3, Guilherme A.V. Mataveli4 and Thiago V. dos Santos5

\*Address all correspondence to: gdo@dsr.inpe.br

1 Remote Sensing Division, National Institute for Space Research, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil

2 Department of Geography and Atmospheric Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA

3 College of Life and Environmental Science, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom

4 Department of Geography, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

5 Department of Soil, Water and Climate, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, USA
