Dinâmica da cobertura florestal e a percepção dos agricultores na microbacia de Erechim-RS

Abstract

This work was developed in the micro-basin of the Campo, Leãozinho and Ligeirinho Rivers, intended for urban public supply in the municipality of Erechim-RS. Located in the north of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, with high anthropization rates. In this scenario, the landscape is being transformed along with the consolidation and expansion processes of the different types of land use and coverage. The objective of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of forest cover in the microbasin in 2009 and 2018. For base year 2009, images from the Landsat 5 satellite and for 2018 images from Landsat 8 were used. The images were georeferenced and segmented using the soil classification 1) Forest; 2) Clear exposed soil; 3) Dark exposed soil; 4) Ploughing; 5) Campestre and 6) Continental water body. Later they were confronted with Google Earth images to conference the classification of land use and occupation. The region of analysis was divided into 34 buffer strips from the center of the urban area to the rural area, with a distance of 400 m from one strip to another, defined from 400 meters to 13600 m later the data were submitted to Multivariate linear Regression Analysis, seeking to identify the reasons why the changes in forest cover is related and where it showed higher rates of increases compared to 2009. The area of forest cover decreased by 3.34 % from 2009 to 2018. The ranges that presented the largest decreases are located near the urban area, a fact that is related to urban expansion, as it moves away from the urban center, and following the rural area the area under study, presents increases in forest cover. The strips that presented an increase in vegetation are located in the rural area, at a distance of approximately 7 km from the urban center. Environmental restoration actions depend on the active participation of local communities. Therefore, it is fundamental to understand the aspects that motivate farmers in the restoration of ecosystems. Thus, this research aimed to assess the perception of landowners regarding the ecological restoration of their properties and the reasons why they have joined ecological restoration programs. Twenty-five landowners were interviewed who participated in APP and RL forest restoration actions on their properties. In the interviews, a semi-structured questionnaire was used, with open and closed questions of a quantitative nature. The answers were transcribed and submitted to Bardin Content Analysis. Among the motivating factors for the restoration work on their properties were compliance with current legislation, protection of water resources and the importance of trees for shading, with the loss of area being one of the reasons of less relevance to them. It is concluded that in the perception of the rural producers it is necessary an effective inspection so that all preserve in an equal and uniform way. The results of this research indicate the need to consider a range of aspects of the profile of family farmers to guide the programs and ensure success in forest restoration actions.