Identificação de áreas prioritérias para conservação da Caatinga na bacia do alto curso do Rio Paraíba/PB através do uso das geotecnologias

Abstract

In the present study, emphasis is placed on the importance of protected areas to society, demonstrating the situation of priority areas for conservation, units of conservation (UC) and ecological corridors in relation to brazilian biomes, and later on the upper Paraíba river basin, area of study of this research, located in Cariri of the state of Paraíba. Based on environmental legislation and data related to vegetation, legal reserves, permanent preservation area (PPA) of hydrography and top of hill and the use of geoprocessing techniques, it was made the identification of areas with potential to be classified as priority areas for conservation of the Caatinga, units of conservation, and, finally, as ecological corridors. Among the results generated, more than 1,500 square kilometers divided into four areas, were identified with potential to be classified as priority for conservation, besides possessing attributes to accommodate units of conservation. There were also delimited proposals of ecological corridors among the three UC's present in the study area. The use of remote sensing was the starting point for the results of chapter I, since through the free Google Earth Engine platform, it stores, organizes and makes available satellite images, including in its collection, data over forty years old, it was allowed the use of 58 images from the years 1988, 1999 and 2017, which were treated through the SAVI vegetation index. With regard to chapter II, the methodology used through the use of ArcGIS software in its version 10.5.1 and the tool Corridor Design contributed in the preparation of results that present a network of ecological corridors of approximately 275 km of extension and an area of 1,245,64 km², which is equivalent to 18.50% of the total area of the basin. Thus, ecological corridors in conjunction with protected areas and priority areas for conservation form an excellent preservation and restoration strategy, reconnecting different environments and forest fragments, minimizing the isolation caused by fragmentation, increasing plant cover and ensuring the conservation of natural resources. For this, the use of geoprocessing has been significant and essential in environmental management, mainly filling the gaps in the databases, as well as presenting alternatives to the existing research deficit in the semi-arid.