Territorial Zoning Based on Geopedologic Information: Case Study in the Caroni River Basin, Venezuela

Abstract

Geomorphology-based land surveys, founded on geoform-soil relationships, have been carried out in Venezuela at different scales and in a variety of environments using aerial photographs, radar and satellite images. The Caroni river basin is one of the most important watersheds in southern Venezuela, providing the largest part of the electric energy consumed in the country. To guarantee the sustainability of the hydroelectric production, a management plan of the natural resources of the watershed is needed. A territorial zoning of the catchment area based on geomorphic and soil information was undertaken as an initial step to propose land uses compatible with preserving the hydroelectric potential. Geomorphic units and their soil components, together with ancillary elements including the vegetation cover, were mapped at two scales using a multicategorial geoform classification system. From this information two zoning proposals were derived, one based on geomorphic landscape units at 1:250,000 scale and the other based on relief-type units at 1:100,000 scale. The zoning units were used for land evaluation and for establishing land use regulations required for the watershed management plan.