Fragmentation in the Atlantic Forest: the case of Paraíba do Sul municipality, Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil

Abstract

The Atlantic Rainforest remnant at Paraíba do Sul municipality, Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil, is highlyfragmented. Forest fragmentation intensifies the edge effect, alters natural balance and affects the conservation of natural resources.We aimed to identify and characterize the forest fragments at Paraíba do Sul. Fragments were identified by supervisedclassification of an OLI/Landsat-8 image using a maximum likelihood algorithm (MAXVER). Based on landscape ecologyprinciples, fragments were characterized according to their spatial features by landscape metrics. We found 1259 forest fragmentsat intermediary or advanced stage of regeneration. Most fragments have an area smaller than 5 ha. Only seven fragments exceed100 ha, but they have a low degree of isolation and therefore represent conservation priorities.