Environmental risk suitability áreas mapping using spatial analysis techniques: a case study in the Piracicaba and Sapucai upper river basin, Fernão Dias EPA

Author(s)

Danilo Francisco Trovo Garofalo

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Geociências
• Defense date: 2013-02-07

Examining board members

Marcos César Ferreira; José Flávio de Castro; Edson Luis Bolfe

• Advisor: Marcos César Ferreira

Abstract

In the last decades, Brazil has been the scenery of constant forests clear cuts and forest fragmentation, causing a significant increase in the soil erosion process and changes in hydrological and geomorphological dynamics of environmental systems. In this context, the purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between physical, biotic and anthropogenic components in the Fernao Dias Environmental Protection Area (EPA), and to purpose an geospatial method for environmental fragility areas mapping. This method uses the following environmental factors: vegetation index, heavy rains occurrence probability, terrain slope, structural lineaments density and road density. This methodology was based on the following steps: a) thematic maps of environmental variables associated with environmental fragility, surveyed to the Fernao Dias EPA; b) estimation of environmental variables weights, based on Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical test; c) fragility mapping, based on Fuzzy logic and geographic information systems - GIS; d) analysis of environmental fragility of watersheds results. The results indicated that watersheds located on the east central portion of the EPA are those with greater fragility, even those presenting significant remaining forest. In the western portion of the EPA, mainly around the Fernao Dias highway corridor, high fragility areas occur where the urban sprawl is more disordered. In the other areas of the EPA, high fragility areas also occurs in annual crops plantations and degraded pastures farms, associated the unpaved rural roads (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/05125-0 - Environmental fragility mapping in APA Fernão Dias (MG), Upper Basin of the Rivers Piracicaba and Sapucaí Mirim using spatial analysis and GIS techniques
• Grantee: Danilo Francisco Trovo Garofalo
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master