Measurements and estimates of the components of energy balance were made above the canopy of trees in natural mangrove ecosystem, located 30 km from the city of Bragança-PA, between November 2002 and August 2003. The data were used in the analysis of seasonal and hourly variations of the sensible and latent heat flows, as well as the evaluation of the energy partition. Meteorological data were collected by the automatic weather station (AWS) and the energy flows were calculated using the technique of eddy covariance. The Penman-Monteith and Shuttleworth models were used to estimate the sensible and latent heat flow. The objective of this study was to analyze the balance and partitioning of energy in the mangrove and make an assessment of the behavior of empirical models in estimating the energy flows. The net radiation showed higher values in the less rainy season. The Bowen ratio showed generally low value, which indicates that a greater proportion of energy was used in the form of latent heat. The estimates of the energy flows showed satisfactory results. Shuttleworth model is more efficient in estimating sensitive heat flows. For estimating latent heat flow the Penman-Monteith model was more efficient during dry season and the Shuttleworth model during rainy season.
Ecossystem amazônico; Mangrove; Energy balance
