Study of sediment load variation at the Bonito River Basin (Sao Paulo, Brazil) based on the alterations of the land use, between the years of 1971 and 2002

Abstract

The current work analyzes the relationship between the use of the land and the potential sediment load in an urban/rural river basin, where a new sugarcane culture had been introduced and the loss of the native vegetation was observed, in the years 1971 and 2002. By utilizing a decision-making software (SAGA) and a geographic information system (SIG), an analysis was performed on the impact resulted from the introduction of this new culture, and the loss of the native vegetation in the field under study. Along with the use of charts related to the area, we attained the necessary parameters which led to our desired partial result (Potential Sediment Load Ratio Chart for the years 1971 and 2002) for the period under review. After obtaining the cartographic material, we correlated the same, so as to observe the changes that took place, as well as the resulting impact on the environment. It is our belief that the results obtained from this study will be of great importance for the diagnosis of the region under study, as well as for the subsidy of eventual intervention plans, and in particular for the conception of directing plans. Key words: Regional planning; river basin management; geoprocessing; environment and environmental geology.