Protocol for identifying areas susceptible to erosion applied in the Fortaleza stream microbasin, Cuiabá/MT

Abstract

Soil erosion is understood as a natural geomorphological phenomenon that has been intensifying through human actions that are inadequately developed, resulting in soil degradation and its multiple functions, and, with this, causing an imbalance in the dynamics of the environment. and damage to society itself, leading to the loss of environmental quality and taking measures aimed at the conservation and recovery of degraded areas. In this sense, the objective of the work is to identify, through a protocol, areas with potential for erosion in the Córrego Fortaleza watershed, Cuiabá-MT, elaborating a susceptibility map to erosion of the watershed using the GIS software ArcGis. The methodological procedures proposed in the present study were developed in two stages: i) Conducting the environmental diagnosis of the watershed; and ii) Application and modeling of the Multicriteria Decision-Making Method. For the elaboration of thematic maps, the ArcGis software, version 10.5 was used. The results obtained with the elaboration of the final erosion susceptibility map showed that a large part of the area is classified as having high erosive potential, as it represented 43.3% of the total area of the basin, and this is likely. to be explained by the fact that these areas coincide with the built-up areas. In the field, it was possible to verify that the erosive susceptibility of the hydrographic basin is strongly influenced by human activities, with land use and occupation dominated by the accelerated and unplanned urbanization process. This study made it possible to verify that approximately 24.4% of the microbasin area has low potential for erosion and it is noted that these areas are located mainly where there is presence of preserved vegetation and undergrowth, and with slopes between 0 and 8%. In this way, the importance of carrying out protection works that minimize the erosion processes of the microbasin is highlighted, since changes in vegetation cover and inadequate use and management influence the contribution of organic matter to the soil, which can affect its attributes and increase its erodibility over time.