Shifting habitat mosaic: identification and mapping

Abstract

The Shifting Habitat Mosaic refers to temporal changes in the spatial pattern of habitats, through the flood and dry pulses. This work mapped the dynamics of a Shifting Mosaic associated with the flood and dry pulses in the Environmental Protection Area of the Banhado Grande (EPABG). The research was divided into four stages: i) acquisition of satellite images; ii) obtaining rainfall river basin data from the Gravataí River; iii) identification of the flood and dry pulses; and iv) mapping of the Shifting Mosaic in the wetlands of the EPABG. In large swaths of flooding, a shifting connectivity is established between the AUs of EPABG, providing several interactions among these wetlands, such as nutrient exchange, sediments and living organisms. It was found that in periods where the accumulation of precipitation in the last 30 days is greater than 200 mm, we have the presence of predominantly aquatic mosaic with the presence of predominantly aquatic animals and vegetation; In periods where the cumulative precipitation in the 30 days is less than 200 mm, a terrestrial mosaic predominates, with increase of ciliary vegetation.

Keywords

• floodplain
• flood pulses
• shifting mosaic
• wetlands