Study of the native vegetable coverage of the permanent condensed areas of the microbacy water courses of the Paraíso stream, in Muniz Freire/ES

Abstract

The preservation of ciliary vegetation is important for the maintenance of optimal environmental conditions for populations and water resources. In view of this scenario and considering the relevance of studies in hydrographic basins, the objective was to verify the distribution and quantification of native vegetation in the permanent preservation areas (PPA) of the watercourses of the Córrego Paraíso microbasin, located in the municipality of Muniz Freire, state of Espírito Santo. The procedures were carried out in the ArcGIS® program, based on GEOBASES/ES and the National Water Agency. The microbasin was delimited to obtain the hydrographic network and local springs by photointerpretation of aerial images acquired in GEOBASES/ES. On this basis, the land use and land cover characteristics for the entire state of Espírito Santo were acquired for the mapping of the years 2007-2008 and 2012-2015. The PPAs were delimited according to the rules of the New Brazilian Forest Code. The features were edited, considering only the native vegetation classes, which were quantified and interpreted according to their distribution. The consolidated native vegetation was fragmented and decreased by 3%, with percentages lower than 40% in the springs, but in the watercourses, stabilized in about 18%, being poor for the preservation of natural resources. The native vegetation in the initial stage of regeneration represented only 10% in the springs, however, there was a significant increase in the springs of PPA. Actions to expand plant cover and environmental awareness are needed.