Diagnosis of the use and occupation of the lands of the hydrographic bowl of the Ribeirão São João-ES, Brazil

Abstract

Studies related to the use of soil in river basins are of extreme importance to, for example, assist in the evaluation of the environmental impacts of human activities. The objective of this work was to evaluate soil use in the Ribeirão São João river basin in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, as a way to subsidize actions of environmental improvements in the area. The geographic databases used were: the Integrated System of Geospatial Bases of the State of Espírito Santo, the Jones dos Santos Neves Institute and the National Water Agency. The procedures were performed in the ArcGis program. The basin was delimited to then, based on two land use files referring to the mappings of the years 2007-2008 and 2012-2015, determine and quantify the classes of land use. A thematic map was prepared in order to evaluate the distribution of classes. Pasture was the most predominant class (approximately 40%), followed by coffee farming (20%), arranged under small monocultures. The native vegetation presented low percentages (15,5%), although they did not decrease in this period. The high representativeness of the macega (approximately 5%), predominant alongside native forest fragments, indicates a problem regarding the management and use of local lands. Eucalyptus silviculture presented great growth during this period, together with the expansion of exposed soil areas. The basin of Ribeirão São João presents problems arising from human action, requiring actions such as the creation of ecological corridors, expansion of native forest cover and environmental education with local residents.