Use of Geoindicators for Assessment of Changes in Land Use and Occupation on Period of a 1970 and 2009 in Basin Pinhalzinho II Stream - Northwest Region of Parana-Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to present the characterization of changes in the use and occupation during 1970 to 2009, the basin of the Pinhalzinho II stream, covering the municipalities of Umuarama and a small portion of Cruzeiro do Oeste, located in Northwestern Parana State. To develop this research used the concept of geoindicators featuring natural and anthropogenic changes in the course of a cycle of human life. The basin was geoindicators discussed in the vegetation-related distribution, deforestation and changes in land use. The analysis was performed using several times mapping using aerial photographs from 1970 of the IBC and LANDSAT satellite images fusion with HRC of 2008/2009 at scales of 1:25,000 and classifies uses: Urban Area, and native grassland, pasture, culture Temporary and Permanent addition to roads and drainage, to compare qualitative and quantitatively the main changes in this region. Changes in land use can be triggered naturally, according to the characteristics of the physical environment: bedrock, soil and climate variations. However, the historical process of occupation tied by political changes seeking economic development in the region intensified deforestation,  occupation, e later rural depopulation, changing the current production system. In the comparison between the maps showed an increase in the urban area, the almost total eradication of permanent crops of coffee, the inclusion of seasonal crops such as sugarcane, sugar cane, soya and maize, increased grazing areas, increased grassland vegetation, and reduction of native vegetation.