Spatial-temporal development of the mangrove vegetation cover on a hydraulic landfill (Via Expressa Sul, Florianópolis, SC): mapping and interpretation of digital aerophotographs, and quantitative analysis

Abstract

The implementation of a hydraulic landfill along the southern expressway (Via Expressa Sul), in the central-south region of Santa Catarina Island, started in 1995 and was completed in 1997. The landfill provided the mangrove vegetation a new environment to colonize, which has developed rapidly during this short period of time. This study mapped the vegetation cover of this region using aerial photographs from five years (1994, 1997, 2002, 2004 and 2007), which demonstrated the spatial-temporal evolution of the vegetation since the year before the implementation of the landfill (1994) to its recent state (2007). The data from this study allowed changes in the surface of three bands of vegetation, a band of trees (Laguncularia racemosa and Avicennia schaueriana), a band of the seagrass praturá (Spartina alterniflora) and a transition band (companions of mangrove species and restinga plants), to be quantified.

Keywords

• Mangrove
• Mapping
• Plant succession