LAND USE CHANGES IN THE REGION OF PONTAL DO PARANAPANEMA FROM 1984 TO 2011 PROCESSED BY LAND CHANGE MODELER.
ISBN 978-85-88783-11-9
Authors
1Criado, R.C.; 2Piroli, E.L.
1UNESP Email: ro_geounesp@yahoo.com.br
2UNESP Email: elp@ourinhos.unesp.br
Abstract
Currently, the intensification of environmental problems have been noticed such as frequent floods occurring either in urban areas or vast plantation extensions; lasting droughts, environmental changes and other environmental issues which affect the society, the man and its quality of life. Nature is dynamic and it is in constant transformation, although the droughts, floods and soil eruption are natural occurrences in the environment, they have been intensified and sped up by anthropic pressure through natural resources extraction, mainly in forests and other types of native vegetation. And that is one of the contributing factors to environmental imbalance. Due to the facts presented, this article aims at analyzing the changes occurred in land use and cover in the cities of Rosana, Teodoro, Sampaio and Euclides da Cunha, those located in the southwest region of São Paulo State which is known as Pontal do Paranapanema. In order to carry out the studies, images from 1984 and 2011 were used, those obtained by the sensor “Thematic Mapper” from the Land Remote Sensing Satellite- LANDSAT 5.The mentioned sensor was chosen due to its vast historical collection of images which are available for free use. Two softwares were needed in order to complement the analysis; they were ArcGis version 10 by Esri and Idrisi Taiga by Clark Labs. By using ArcGis, the database was developed and the images were classified through virtual analysis. Later on, the data was inserted in the software Idrisi Taiga and the tool Land Cover Modeler (LCM) was applied enabling the verification, tabulation and spatialization of all changes occurred in the period of time selected. Based on the land use and cover maps from 1984 and 2011 it was possible to observe severe changes in the studied area, and that may be due to its diversity of types and land cover and use, fact which is related to its occupation process. The region was initially formed by seasonal rainforest characterized as a vegetation of transition between Atlantic rainforest and Brazilian Cerrado (savannah).During the 70´s this area suffered a great deforestation caused by the pioneers who first came to the region to occupy the territory, remove the native vegetation and bring economic progress to it by implementing, mainly, extensive cattle raising. After that there are other facts which deserve to be highlighted in that region, among them is the creation of Morro do Diabo State Park, the biggest one in environmental conservation in the countryside of São Paulo State. It has an approximate area of 384km2. Besides, it is possible to mention the innumerous conflicts for land between land owners and social movements which fight for the right of owing a piece of land; also the implementation of dams in the city of Rosana, with a lake of 694km2 and another one in Porto Primavera with a lake of 200 km2, flooding a great nearby area and creating the need to relocated rural communities and a whole city. Recently, the region is undergoing an expansion of ethanol and sugar Mills, turning the pastures and crops into sugarcane plantations, areas also known as green deserts due to its low existing biodiversity. To sum up, the great conflicts for owing and having the right to use the land in the studied area was responsible for a unique use and cover of land. That can be better observed in the maps, pictures, graphs produced by making use of geotechnologies and geoprocessing.
Keywords
land change modeler; land use and cover; Pontal do Paranapanema