Banca de DEFESA: TARCIS DOS SANTOS TRAJANO

LANDSCAPE GEOECOLOGY APPLIED TO THE MEASUREMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN 

THE POTENGI-RN RIVER ESTUARY

Estuary, Geoecology,  Impact.

Estuaries have very different characteristics in terms of their environmental aspects. It is in these regions that one of the most complex ecosystems on planet Earth can be found, the mangroves. Considered as an important biological indicator, the structure and distribution of mangrove vegetation are affected by changes in the tidal regime, hydrological recharge of rivers, salinity, climatic and precipitation conditions, and by human action, the latter being the starting point for the analysis of the research, which has as its object a cut of the estuarine part of the Potengi river basin, located in the city of Natal. The mangrove ecosystem included in the research cut is pressured by the advance of urban expansion. Thus, considering the use and coverage of the landscape from a systemic perspective, from the theoretical-methodological support of Landscape Geoecology, the general objective of the research was to identify the main environmental impacts present in the study area, caused by the different activities developed in the sector. estuary and its repercussions on the mangrove ecosystem, considering the spatial organization of physical and socioeconomic aspects and its consequences in the forms of use and occupation. The research was developed in different phases, namely: organization and inventory, analysis, diagnosis and proposition, containing specific actions that allowed achieving the objectives of the work. Through bibliographic and field research, and the use of geoprocessing techniques, a database was created in a Geographic Information System (GIS) that allowed the elaboration of cartographic products related to the research area, such as thematic maps and chart images. The results achieved in the research allowed the identification of impacted areas, related to the different forms of use and occupation. Another relevant point was the possibility of socializing and disseminating actions already developed in the sector of the study area, with direct involvement with regard to execution and planning, related to the propositional stage of the research.