Macrozoning of Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, by Remote Sensing

Abstract

Earth imaging technologies using orbital platforms have allowed new approaches in the analyses, compartmentalization, and territorial visualization. These cartographic informations have many applications in agricultural, urban and environmental monitoring. In the case of vast geographic regions, such as Brazil, one expects that the many products obtained from imaging technology will be used to reduce costs and to provide a better understanding of the territory. The crossanalysis of the products from various imaging systems of different characteristics (e.g. pixel size, band, and data) allows the improvement of current maps as well as more complex analyses. The macrozoning of the state Rio Grande do Sul was accomplished by integrating orbital data of different characteristics and other cartographic products. The following sources supplied data on Rio Grande do Sul: 1) Landsat TM mosaic; 2) temporal NDVI/NOAA combination; 3) geomorphologic map; and 4) altimetric map. The cross-analysis of the data allow us to gather in a single map information from distinct cartographic sources, which better represent the diversity of the thematic classes in relation to the usage patterns of soil and plant life in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.