Avaliação da aptidão agrícola das terras de parte do setor leste da bacia do rio Seridó usando sensoriamento remoto e geoprocessamento.

Abstract

This work presents an approach based on the methodology developed by Ramalho Filho et al. in 1978 as well as on the use of a geographic information system for assessing the land suitability (soil map as a source) and the comparative evaluation with the actual agricultural land use (satellite imagery as a source). The study target is located on part of the eastern area of the Serido river basin, to the north of the Serido Paraibano region, between the parallels 6°16'26" and 6°43'29" S and the meridians 36°14'05" and 36°31'54" W Gr. It occupies, completely or partially, the lands of the counties of Picui, Frei Martinho and Nova Palmeira, with an area approximately of 937.86 Km2. The geographic information system SGI version 2.5E, developed by Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), was used to store and process geo-coded data relative to the study area. The overlap of different layers created on SGI permitted to obtain a Land Suitability map in the 1:100.000 scale. Three classes were defined in this context: 3(bc) - restricted suitability for cultivation in the handling levels B and C; 5(n) - restricted for natural pasture and not suitable for forestry; and 6 - not suitable for agricultural use, except in special cases (recommended for flora and fauna preservation and for recreation). The results of this study permit to recommend the used methodology for supporting the decision makers in the planning of socio-economic development programs for arid and semi-arid regions.