Índice de Transformação Antrópica (Ita) como suporte para análise da degradação da paisagem no município Jardim de Piranhas-RN

Abstract

Analyzing the landscape is a geographer's job. This expresses the complexity of the physical-natural elements and, when present, the repercussions of the anthropic influence at the same time. Thus, the ATI (Anthropic Transformation Index), a reliable, simple and objective tool, can assist in supplying for an increasing demand for information related to Human action on the environment. Using this, the work in question sought to quantify the degree of degradation of the landscape, in the municipality of Jardim de Piranhas / RN, from the anthropic transformation index and to discuss its causative processes. The methodological procedures used to achieve this goal were developed in three steps: 1 - creation of a database linked to a Geographic Information System (GIS), consisting of a set of images of the TM / LANDSAT satellite for the year 1984 and LISS3 / RESOURCE SAT 2 for the year 2015, as well as vector files for municipal borders and political-administration. 2 - processing of collected data such as: contrast enhancement and analysis / classification operations. At that time, for 1984, five (5) soil cover classes were established, with the arid region in particular, which occupied an area of 199.66 km² and an ITA of 4,83. In the year 2015 the arid region presented already a decrease of about 55 km² and an ITA of 3,52. In the same year, the exposed soil class occupied an area of 147.36 km², an increase of approximately 96 km² in relation to the area occupied in 1984. Therefore, the measured anthropogenic interferences can be associated to the changes in the soil cover and the changes in the landscape identified here, as indicated by the methodology presented by Mateo (1984) and corroborated by the presented results.