Abstract
This work investigates the spatial-temporal dynamics of land use and vegetation covers in a conservation area of Cerrado, in the county of Currais, Piauí, in which the economy depends on large agricultural projects. We used maps of a 32-year time series (1985 to 2017) of land use and cover provided by the Brazilian Annual Land Use and Land Cover Mapping Project (MapBiomas). We assessed six classes of land uses and vegetation covers: forest, savanna, grassland, agriculture/pasture, non-vegetated area, and water bodies. There was a fast increase in pressure on natural ecosystems from 1985 and 2017, primarily from 2000. The land use for agriculture and pasture increased from 0.26% (726.93 ha) in 2000 to 16% (50,772.63 ha) in 2017. During this period, the native vegetation decreased 15.90%, with savannas suffering the largest loss in hectares of vegetation (41,663.73 ha), followed by the forests (9,837.35 ha). The grassland cover, non-vegetated area, and water bodies remained unchanged. These results provide essential information for decision making and can be used to guide public policies for the conservation, monitoring, and sustainable management of remnant vegetation areas.
Highlights
The Cerrado biome comprises a critical area for conservation of global biological diversity due to its high species richness and strong anthropic pressure (Mittermeier et al, 2011; Sloan et al, 2014)
The savannah vegetation cover predominated in the last year analyzed, representing 50% of all the vegetation of the county, followed by the grasslands (23.80%), and forests (10.16%)
The registered changes have affected the natural landscape with loss and modification of ecosystem services that are essential for the well-being of local and regional population
Summary
The Cerrado biome comprises a critical area for conservation of global biological diversity (hotspot) due to its high species richness and strong anthropic pressure (Mittermeier et al, 2011; Sloan et al, 2014). The incorporation of new areas for agriculture aims to meet the demand for food. It provokes large scale environmental impacts, putting natural resources, biodiversity, and ecosystem services at risks (Santos et al, 2017). In the state of Piauí, northeastern Brazil, the Cerrado comprises an area of 8.5 million hectares, about 70% of the state’s territory. This area has been intensively exploited to agriculture since the 1970s and 1980s, with intensification in 1990 through the implementation of large projects (Aguiar & Monteiro, 2005)
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