Trajetórias de desmatamento e de uso do solo em uma região dendeícola na Amazônia oriental.

Abstract

This study intended to analyze the dynamics of deforestation and land use in the region of Tailândia-PA, Brazil, between the years 1985 to 2015, focusing on the dynamics of the palm oil’s implantation. Supervised classification and Landsat imagery acquired between 1985 and 2015 were used in this analysis, with the Maximum Likelihood algorithm use. The classes forest, secondary forest, exposed soil, farming, natural fields, oil palm and water were considered. The results show an old dynamic of deforestation, with greater or lesser intensity in the different historical periods identified, but persistent over time, even extending to the present. There was a 45% reduction in the forested area and the conversion of forests into, mainly, agricultural and livestock. The oil palm area increased by 904% in the period studied, being greater after 2009. It was proven that Thailand followed the Amazon traditional model of occupation, related to logging followed by cattle ranching, which persists, despite the decrease in deforestation. It should be noted that the scenario in 2015 was better, from an environmental point of view, than the scenarios observed in previous decades; however, oil palm needs periodic sustainability analysis mechanisms. Although no new deforestation has been observed for the direct implantation of palm oil from 2008, deforestation still occurs in areas of oil palm expansion and consolidation, which leads us to conjecture that oil palm could also indirectly foment deforestation.

Keywords

• Palm oil
• Geographic information system
• Landscape ecology