Environmental fragility as a environmental planning instrument in Conservation Units: the case of APA Serra da Piedade – MG

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the environmental fragility of the Serra da Piedade Environmental Protection Area (APA), in the municipality of Visconde do Rio Branco, Minas Gerais, located in the Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais. To determine the fragility of the area, the study had as theoretical basis the conception of Geosystems, Ecodynamics and Ecogeography, from the studies of Sotchava, Tricart and Bertrand. The methodological basis of the work consisted of a multicriterial analysis based on the work of Ross (1994), Crepani et al. (2001) and weighted the Slope, Geomorphology, Precipitation variables with the Land Use classification. Through the data collected from these environmental variables, the model integrates the criteria by their simple sum, with each class of each variable taking a specific value to its vulnerability to fragility. The result generated the Potential Fragility Map (MFP) with the variables, Slope, Geomorphology and Precipitation and, the Emerging Fragility Map (MFE) from the overlay of the Potential Fragility map (MFP) and the thematic use map and land occupation. The models produced in the study generated important information for the environmental and territorial planning of the Serra da Piedade Environmental Protection Area, as well as for other related areas, also enabling the creation of an accessible, easy-to-apply zoning, which generates an effective tool for the monitoring of environmental fragility.