Characterization of the fragility degrees in geoecological states of the Management Unit of Water Resources of the Pontal do Paranapanema (SP, Brazil)

Abstract

The Oeste Paulista, the second most degraded region in the State of São Paulo, has, in the Water Resources Management Unit - UGRHI 22 / Pontal do Paranapanema, the largest representation of the environmental damage that occurred in recent years in this portion of the state. The present paper aims to characterize the environmental units, potentialities and physical fragilities, throughout the integrated and systematic analysis of the natural components of the hydrographic basin that composes UGRHI 22. Therefore, the study in question brings as its theoretical and conceptual basis the Landscape Geoecology theory, which establishes that the relationships and interrelations between the components of the physical environment make possible to reflex and understand its dynamics. Thus, in order to achieve the objectives of this work, we initially conduct a survey of the regional natural components, such as Geology, Pedology, Geomorphology, and others, which resulted in the elaboration of thematic maps that enabled the identification of the characteristics of the elements of the landscape. We assigned weights from one to five for the landscape’s components, in which the lowest corresponds to a stabilized landscape - and the highest to a degraded landscape -, in order to identify the fragility according to its physical characteristics. Then, from the overlapping of the maps produced from these weights, their arithmetic averages were calculated. The results display a definition of the degrees attributed to each of the features and an arrangement of a synthesis map of the geoecological state, which contributes to the planning of UGHR-22’s anthropogenic activities.