USE AND OCCUPATION OF SPRING AREAS IN THE HIGH HYDROGRAPHIC SUB-BASIN COURSE OF THE FIGUEIREDO RIVER, CEARÁ, BRAZIL

Abstract

This study deals with the forms use and occupation of spring areas of the high hydrographic subbasin course of the Figueiredo River, located in the state of Ceará. To this end, human use and occupation was discussed based on environmental systems and subsidized by multitemporal analysis (2009-2020) of land use and coverage through the supervised processing of the Landsat 5 and 8 satellite images. This research has a theoretical and empirical character, in which a bibliographic, cartographic survey, elaboration of thematic maps and fieldwork were carried out. In this way, it was found that environmental systems are degraded and that the uses of the environment are responsible for this. By the multitemporal analysis, the most worrying result was found: an increase in the areas discovered from 65.95 km2 to 115.04 km2 in a decade. In addition,
there is a need for conservationist measures that converge to minimize negative impacts, serving for
the preservation and conservation of natural resources and for the recovery of degraded areas.