Avaliação dos impactos ambientais associados às mudanças no uso e ocupação da terra na Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Monjolinho (São Carlos - SP)

Abstract

Knowing the importance of water courses for cities and their growth, understand that changes in their uses and occupations are necessary, as water is of great importance to the Earth and thus needs to be conserved. This study evaluated the changes in land use and occupation in the Monjolinho River basin (São Carlos - SP) over the last decades and the environmental impacts resulting from these alterations. Using geoprocessing techniques applied to MapBiomas data, the study mapped changes in vegetation cover and identified the main human activities associated with them, such as agricultural and urban expansions. The assessment revealed a significant reduction in areas of native vegetation, particularly the Forest Formation and Savanna Formation, which were replaced by cultivation and urbanization areas. This deforestation may have contributed to a several of negative environmental impacts, including habitat fragmentation, loss of biodiversity, increased soil erosion, and deterioration of water quality in the basin's water bodies. The decrease in areas of natural vegetation cover may also affect local hydrological cycles, resulting in issues such as reduced water infiltration into the soil and increased surface runoff, which can exacerbate flooding and decrease aquifer recharge. Urban growth has also altered the watercourses in the basin, which have undergone processes of channelization and pollution and have lost much of their vegetation cover. In an attempt to conserve the water resources that supply the city, laws such as the Areas of Protection and Recovery of Municipal Watersheds have been instituted, but the area of Monjolinho basin defined by this law still suffers from impacts related to urban use.