Landscape dynamics and its impacts in the Atlantic Forest area of Southeastern Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the spatial-temporal dynamics of land-use and coverage in the Parque Estadual da Pedra Selada (PEPS) and its landscape, located in Resende and Itatiaia, Rio de Janeiro. Orbital images of the Landsat platform were obtained for the years 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2015. NDVI was calculated for each year, and its amplitude described the classes of land-use and coverage in water bodies, urban area, exposed soil, grassland and forest. For landscape analysis, a 3-km radius buffer was incorporated, delimiting the Buffer Zone (BZ). The forest class was the largest in all years, but there was a reduction in its area over time, especially in BZ. An increase was observed in the grassland and urban areas when comparing the years 1995 and 2015, where the urban area doubled its territory. Intense anthropic activity explains this transition as livestock activities began to be used for urban sprawl. The increase in deforested areas in the region, due to pressures such as tourism, real estate speculation, farming and agriculture, drives the fragmentation process that may affect the diversity of flora and fauna present in PEPS.