Potencial de pressão antrópica na região Nordeste Paraense, Brasil

Abstract

The intensification of agriculture in the Amazon threatens biodiversity conservation, interferes with water cycling and carbon stocks, and alters biogeochemical cycles at local and regional scales. Recently, public policies have been created in the Amazon to promote sustainable development, such as the National Plan for Biodiesel Production and Use (PNPB) in 2005 and the Sustainable Palm Oil Production Program (PPSOP) in 2010, facilitating the entry of some municipalities in northeastern Pará into the oil palm (dendê - Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) production chain. Therefore, the objective of this study is to quantify vegetation cover and land use to assess the environmental quality of the municipality of Mãe do Rio, Pará, for the years 2008 and 2016. The methodology includes a literature review, spatial/temporal analysis of land cover and use, and the Anthropogenic Transformation Index (ITA). The results demonstrate that the main changes that occurred in 2008 and 2016 are: i. the continued deforestation of primary forests, while secondary forests increase in area; ii. the gradual expansion of oil palm plantations over agricultural areas; iii. the increase in the area of ​​exposed soil indicates a high turnover of land use and cover; iv. in 2008 and 2016, the indices are 7.56 and 7.64 respectively, considered "potentially unsustainable" due to the continued suppression of primary, degraded, and campinaranas forests, favoring the loss of biodiversity in the region, a condition that justifies support for the oil palm policy.