LAND COVER CHARACTERIZATION AND LANDSCAPE METRICS FOR ÁGUA FRIA WATERSHED (PALMAS – TOCANTINS)
Abstract
Assuming that there are no landscape level studies in Palmas (Tocantins), this paper aims to survey some landscape metrics of forest formation in a 16,764.2 ha watershed (called Água Fria watershed). By using the land cover map of the study area, some landscape metrics were computed. According to the results, we observed that only 21.4% of the whole area had original land cover and there was a high frequency of small patches in the landscape whereas large patches were rare. From the remaining forest vegetation just 24.4% is not affected by the edge effect. On the other hand, the shape index presented a value that indicates that the patches tend to have, generally, a near circular shape. The high degree of fragmentation is attributed to fire action that is used randomly and in a high frequency, specially at the dry season. Key-words: edge effect; native forest fragmentation; geographic information system; landscape metrics; Palmas (Tocantins).Downloads
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