Methodological proposal to analyze land use and land cover changes: the case of Santa Catarina state in Brazil from 2000 to 2010

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to verify the land use and land cover change and to relate them with the potential driving forces that have been acting in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, during the period from 2000 to 2010. The methodology consists in identifying trends in the land use and land cover change; indicating possible explanatory factors based in factorial analysis for main components and elaborating a final typology, based on cluster analysis. Results include a strong expansion and growing strength of agricultural activity as well as forestry throughout the state and the loss of native vegetation, which points to the need to develop protective actions and occupation and land use regulations, in particular, in the environmental area, encompassing the development of an intensive and mechanized agricultural activity.

Modeling of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) Change Based on Artificial Neural Networks for the Chapecó River Ecological Corridor, Santa Catarina/Brazil

“…Despite different methodological approaches, these results corroborate with other studies of LULC change, where they identify trends of expansion of agricultural areas, such as agriculture and silviculture, and a loss of forest area in different regions of the country and the world (Latin America, Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and China) [5,19,[45][46][47][48][49][50]52,70,71,95], and the marked loss of grassland area in the southern region of Brazil [95][96][97][98]. Trends of increasing forest area and loss and/or relative stagnation of areas dedicated to agriculture are perceived in different regions of the world [20,26,70,99].…”

“…Similarly, the transition between agriculture and grassland represents a systematic transition pattern. The expansion of agriculture over natural areas is evidenced in other studies [5,52,70], and specifically over grassland areas [100]. The most robust evidence of this systematic pattern is in the high signals of this transition in terms of gains.…”

“…While urbanization is responsible for the gradual and intense replacement of natural environments by urban agglomerations, primary activities use extensive areas but maintain a minimum of soil permeability and vegetation cover, even if not perennial. In the state of Santa Catarina, a close relationship can be observed between the growth of farming and silviculture and land use and land cover changes [52]. The constant growth of the gross value of production (GVP) of the state's mixed farming reflects this dynamic and is also an important economic indicator [53].…”

Predictive Scenarios of LULC Changes Supporting Public Policies: The Case of Chapecó River Ecological Corridor, Santa Catarina/Brazil

“…It stands out with the economic activities of soybean cultivation, beef and dairy cattle raising, and wood production [47]. This complex social arrangement, together with land use and land cover changes [16] and territorial conflicts [45], makes this region of great environmental, social, and economic appeal for the state of Santa Catarina.…”

“…In Brazil, the expansion of urban areas (including roads/highways) and areas dedicated to agriculture, cattle raising, and forestry (silviculture) are important driving forces of natural vegetation suppression [7,[16][17][18][19][20]. As with urban population growth, the expansion of urban areas and the export of agricultural products are cited as the leading causes of rainforest loss in 41 countries [7].…”