Fire Forests in Brazil

Introduction 

Forests play a significant role in the survival of human beings and animals because they facilitate the occurrence of rainfall. Notably, rainfall fosters this survival through the provision of clean water for drinking and the growth of vegetation. Thusly, the destruction of such forests in a process known as deforestation jeopardizes the lives of the people and animals. Deforestation can occur through both human activities and natural causes. Forest fires have become an issue of concern as they destroy the beauty of nature ("Deforestation causes," n.d.). Brazil, being the home of Amazon forest experiences such fires frequently. Thus, a need arises for stakeholders to understand the causes of these fires and the manner in which they can be controlled. In addition, it is important to assess the time of the year that such a problem is likely to occur.

Task/Design Analysis 

The data obtained about the forest fires in Brazil gives a clear insight of the time within which such disasters are prevalent. It is worth noting that the information in the website is presented in tabular form showing the year in which the forest fires were experienced in the country, the affected state, the month, the number of forest fires witnessed, and the date of occurrence. Besides, the data from the website is visually represented through the use of colour-coded graphs. The colour-coded visual representations have a host of advantages. To start with, it makes it easy for people to understand data easily with a single glance. It is worth noting that sometimes, people do not have enough time to read through written content to understand what the author intended. However, a visual representation, especially with colours enables them to get a clear idea of the content within a short time.

In addition, colour-coding enables analysts to group data that relates to a specific variable. For instance, the fact that the data used for this research represents forest fires in Brazil, the writer decided to use a blue colour to indicate the extent to which this problem is prevalent in the country. In such a way, the coloured graphs make the work look organized and presentable (Lee, n.d.). The use of the colour theory makes a difference in the manner in which the writer presents the data on the website. Normally, it appeals to more than other designs that are used to draw graphs.

Figure: Visual representation of fires in Brazil ("Forest Fires in Brazil," n.d.).

Novel Designs 

The information captured created above can be captured through the use of a pie chart. A pie-chart is a circular figure that is divided into sections to show the fractions of various research variables. For instance, the creation of the noble design for this research entailed the comparison of the number of cases of fire forests in the Amazon forest in Brazil. Importantly, the information about the number of forest fires depending on the state can give a clear indication of the area covered by the forests that is more likely to experience the problem aforementioned. Importantly, the use of excel effectively creates a chart showing the prevalence of fire forests in states such as Rio, Mato Grosso, and others. After keying in the names of the states and the number of reported cases in excel, a pie chart was inserted. The final product is a circle divided into three sections, each of them representing a state. In addition, the number of fires witnessed over the years can also be captured using the pie-chart approach.

Implementation 

From this figure, one can understand the area in Brazil that experiences the highest number of forest fires. Notably, other states combined experience a higher risk of forest fires than Rio and Mato Grosso. The depiction of the data, as shown above, is clearer than the bar graph used on the website for various reasons. To start with, it gives a numerical difference between the prevalence of forest fires between the three regions. In addition, the use of different colours for different areas makes it easy for a reader to understand the aim of the research at a single glance. In such a way, a need arises for researchers to employ this tactic when evaluating data.

Evaluation 

The use of colour-coded graphs is a more effective approach to creating data visualizations than other approaches such as spaghetti plots and small multiples for various reasons. Firstly, it makes it easy for one to understand the content of research within a single glance. Secondly, the colour-coded graphs appear organized and properly summarize the data obtained in the exploration. The evaluation process used in this research includes employing Microsoft Excel to draw a pie-chart showing the prevalence of fire forests in Brazil. From the exercise, I learned that graphical representations of data are a more effective way for a reader to understand the goals and objectives of a given research.

Conclusion 

This paper has shown that deforestation is a serious problem in the contemporary world. As discussed, Brazil boasts of the Amazon forest, which is the largest of its kind in the world. Besides, the paper has highlighted the fact that this forest has experienced unexpected fires over the years. The creator of the data used tables and a bar graph to show the changes in the number of reported fires over some period. However, the creation of a pie-chart is a better way of creating a visual representation of the same data.

References 

Deforestation causes. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2019, from https://wwf.panda.org/our_work/forests/deforestation_causes2/ 

Forest Fires in Brazil. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2019, from https://www.kaggle.com/gustavomodelli/forest-fires-in-brazil#amazon.csv 

Lee, K. (n.d.). The Advantages of Formatting Colors in Spreadsheets. Retrieved December 2, 2019, from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-formatting-colors-spreadsheets-77593.html