Physiographic characterization of water basins in Minas Gerais (Brazil) as a contribution for environmental planning

Resumo

Characterizing natural features of the environment, such as soil, vegetation, and climate help understanding the dynamics of a hydrographic basin, making it possible to propose appropriate measures for use and occupation, aiming to minimize impacts on the environment and water quality. This research aimed to characterize the physiographic attributes of the watersheds of the stations monitored by Instituto Mineiro de Gestão das Águas, using geotechnologies and secondary data, to generate information that assist environmental planning. All geoprocessing was performed in ArcGIS GIS. Initially, records on climate, soil and natural vegetation characteristics were collected from free databases, and then they went through a process of homogenization of geodetic reference. The slope map was generated in ArcGis from 96 SRTM images, made available by the American Geological Survey, with intervals of 1 arc-seg (30 m resolution). The results showed that most of the basins under study, 47.11% of the total, are in the Atlantic Forest biome and 31.35% of the total are in Cerrado. As for climate, according to the Köppen classification, classes Cwa, Cwb, and Aw are prevalent. The predominant slope class in the hydrographic basins is the 12 to 30% class, which covers 67.78% of the watersheds. As for soil types, the most comprehensive soil classes are Latosols with 53.94% (267 basins) and Cambisols with 18.59% (92 basins), confirming the data found in the research. The individual cartographic products of each watershed may provide more accurate information and make the environmental planning of each area more adequate. The database created in the present research may support environmental and territorial planning of the basins under study.