ANÁLISE DO DESMATAMENTO E COBERTURA DA TERRA NO BIOMA CAATINGA ENTRE 2001 E 2020 BASEADO EM GEOPROCESSAMENTO EM NUVEM

Abstract

The Caatinga Biome has been constantly suffering from deforestation that directly impacts the change in land use and land cover, resulting in environmental damage: such as loss of biodiversity, soil degradation, desertification, among others. Therefore, determining the severity of deforestation is essential for the development of public policies and measures to preserve this ecosystem. In this context, it is necessary to analyze the influences of deforestation and its spatio-temporal trends to understand land cover changes and their consequences for the Caatinga Biome. To analyze changes in vegetation cover, the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were calculated using products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor. The time series of EVI and NDVI were used to determine the temporal severity of vegetation disturbance during the period from 2001 to 2020. The results showed that there was an increase in grassy vegetation and a decrease in savanna and shrub vegetation, and also showed that the states of Bahia (644.58 km²) and Ceará (323.22 km²) had the highest average occurrences of deforested areas.