Análise espaço - temporal do uso e cobertura da terra na Apa das Nascentes do rio Uruçuí - Preto e seu entorno

Abstract

Environmental Protection Areas (EPAs) reconcile environmental conservation with human occupation; however, they face increasing challenges in regions of agricultural expansion. This study analyzes the dynamics of land use and land cover in the Environmental Protection Area of the Nascentes do Rio Uruçuí-Preto and its surrounding area, within a five-kilometer radius, in southwestern Piauí, Brazil, with the aim of evaluating its effectiveness in containing anthropogenic changes. The study employed geoprocessing procedures and techniques using QGIS software and data from MapBiomas Collection 10 for the years 2007, 2017, and 2024. The results indicate that the expansion of soybean cultivation constitutes the main pressure vector in the surroundings of the Environmental Protection Area, where anthropogenic land use increased from 19.96% in 2007 to 65.26% in 2024. Within the EPA, natural vegetation cover remains predominant (95.09% in 2024), demonstrating the effectiveness of the protected area in maintaining native vegetation, despite the absence of a management plan during the analyzed period. It is concluded that the protected area plays a fundamental role as a barrier to agricultural expansion, and that the effective implementation of the recently approved management plan is necessary to establish land-use regulations and ensure proper zoning of the protected area