A expansão do reflorestamento com eucalipto e seus efeitos na estrutura da paisagem: bacia hidrográfica do Rio Piracicaba e Região Metropolitana do Vale do Aço - Minas Gerais

Abstract

Changes in land cover have caused many environmental impacts, with change on landscape pattern as one of its main consequences. The study of landscape change can be accomplished through analysis of its structure and composition. In contrast to recent economic development the municipalities of the Piracicaba River basin and Metropolitan Area Vale do Aço have been suffering changes in land cover related to the replacement of natural vegetation and pasture cover by eucalyptus reforestation areas. To investigate the consequences of this phenomenon on the landscape structure, this work analyzed changes in land cover in the 1985-2013 period. The results show that eucalyptus reforestation areas increased by 11.62 % in the period, and forests and pastures declined 9.15% and 3.55%, respectively. The transition analysis shows that 96.97% of the areas that have been changed to reforestation with eucalyptus were previously covered with forests or pasture. The analysis of landscape structure shows that between 1985 and 2013 there was loss of connectivity between the largest patches of forest and increasing in reforestation patches size. If the demand for reforestation keeps growing, as observed between 1985 and 2013, it will be need to establish conservation policies and actions to prevent the expansion of reforestation at the expense of forests and other native vegetation, strongly impacted by this activity in the observed period.