Geoprocessing techniques applied to the study of the dynamics of land use and land cover at small watersheds

This study compares the land use support capacity of an agricultural region in Northern Parana State (Brazil) for the year 1993 with that of 1980, using a GIS and an image analysis system. The methodology consists of three steps, namely: 1. A land use and land cover map was obtained using digital image processing techniques applied to images from 1993 and by visual interpretation of the resulting product. An available survey for 1980 was also used. 2. An agricultural land suitability map was obtained by cross-checking soil limiting factors. Given the importance of the slope factor, a more detailed analysis was performed. 3. The land use/land cover and agricultural land suitability maps were integrated in order to generate land use adequacy maps for 1980 and 1993, followed by an analysis of the adequacy for this period. This analysis proved to be very useful for rural activities, because it allows the detection of areas with high erosion risks, and therefore reduces the efforts for conservation control