FOREST ANALYSIS IN THE LANDSCAPE CONTEXT AT SÃO BARTOLOMEU RIVER BASIN, VIÇOSA-MG

Abstract

ABSTRACT The reduction of forest areas in recent years has influenced landscape fragmentation, compromising ecosystem functions. The natural forest, in addition to maintaining biodiversity, is capable of improving the hydrological conditions of the watershed. This study aimed to characterize the landscape structure of the remaining forest fragments in the São Bartolomeu river basin, at the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais State, and to assess their physiographic and pedological representativeness. The study area is responsible for most of Viçosa’s water supply, while it is undergoing an urbanization process, reinforcing the need for ordering the use, besides the evaluation of priority areas for conservation. The studies related to the landscape structure were based on the metrics of forest fragments. The representativeness was analyzed regarding the aspects of topographic compartmentation, slope faces, and soils, using the Chi-square test. The natural forest presents fragments varying from medium to large size, with satisfactory proximity between them. However, the forest patches have irregular shapes, favoring the edge effect with a tendency towards irregularity as the fragment size increases. The results of the physiographic and pedological representativeness indicate that the land uses are dependent on the location in the landscape. According to the statistical test, the forest occurs less frequently than expected on the river terraces (48.3%) and convex slopes (2.3%), as well as on the Red-Yellow Acrisols (53.1%), and on the north (28.5%) and west (20.9%) faces. For urban planning and biodiversity conservation purposes, it is recommended to balance the forest area in the different compartments of the landscape, giving priority to the connection of forest fragments.