INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF LAND BASED ACTIVITIES IN THE SÃO FRANCISCO RIVER BASIN PROJECT GEF/ANA/OAS/UNEP

Activity 2.1 – Thematic Land Use Mapping of the Upper São Francisco Basin

Executive Summary of the Final Report DETERMINATION OF LAND USE IN THE UPPER SÃO FRANCISCO RIVER BASIN

Companhia de Desenvolvimento dos Vales do São Francisco e do Parnaíba

Brasília-DF

INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF LAND BASED ACTIVITIES IN THE SÃO FRANCISCO RIVER BASIN PROJECT GEF/ANA/OAS/UNEP

Activity 2.1 – Thematic Land Use Mapping of the Upper São Francisco Basin

Executive Summary of the Final Report DETERMINATION OF LAND USE IN THE UPPER SÃO FRANCISCO RIVER BASIN

Coordinator Rui Alcides de Carvalho Junqueira Companhia de Desenvolvimento dos Vales do São Francisco e do Parnaíba - CODEVASF

Consultant Karla Adriana Carneiro Rosa

Janeiro de 2002

DETERMINATION OF LAND USE IN THE UPPER SÃO FRANCISCO RIVER BASIN

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

The Upper São Francisco, object of the present land use thematic mapping, is completely contained in the State of , corresponding to the reach going from headwaters to the City of . It covers a total of 164,955 km2, equivalent to 26% of the São Francisco River Basin.

Figure 1- Location of mapped area and the Subdivision of the São Francisco Basin.

1. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE UPPER SÃO FRANCISCO

1.1. LOCATION

The mapped area is located between the 14º and 21º S Latitude and the 43º30´and 47º W Longitude geographic coordinates, going beyond the limits of the Upper São Francisco and covering part of the Middle, as shown in Figure 1. It includes the upper part of the River and the Sub-Basins of the Velhas, Abaeté, Pará. Jequitaí, Indaiá, , and part of the Carinhanha Rivers.

i 1.2. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHARACTERIZATION

The mapped area is composed by 215 Municipalities in the State of Minas Gerais, presenting a population of 7,739,553 inhabitants, according to the 2000 Demographic Census, carried out by IBGE. Most of this population is concentrated in urban areas. The most populated cities are , , , and Ribeirão das Neves.

The expansion of productive activities in the mapped area has been strongly conditioned by its natural resources, with forest and mine exploitation, use of its hydro-power potential and of the rural areas for agriculture and livestock raising. The predominant crops are corn, rice, soybeans, coffee, wheat, sugar-cane, beans, cotton, manioc, tmatoes and diverse green vegetables. The Region presents the second largest cattle herd in the Country, with the greatest dairy production. The cattle’s origins are Índia (gir and nelore) and Europe (Holland).

Currently, great part of reforestation has been done with eucalyptus and pine, already secured for charcoal production. This reforestation, however, has presented a low lumber productivity. The greatest lumber producers in the mapped area are Montes Claros and Januária.

The most important mining area in the São Francisco River Basin, the Iron Quadrilateral, is located in the Upper Region, close to Belo Horizonte. It is found there one of the greatest iro ore deposits, associated to manganese, gold, diamond, calcarium, mercury, zinc, copper, lead and dolomite, gems and precious stones deposits, among other.

1.3. PHYSIOGRAPHIC CHARACTERIZATION

The mapped area is characterized by undulated topography and narrow river channels, with one of the greatest water potentials in the Country. It presents a humid tropical climate with summer rains (December through February) and dry winter (June to August). Mean annual precipitation depths vary from 1,000 to 1,500 mm, with mean temperature around 23º C (bellow freezing minimum temperature in some areas).

Given the different types of relief, the soils present physical and chemical characteristics associated with the rock occurrences. There are different soil types, including latosols (deeper soils, located in more stable positions in the landscape, typical of tablelands), cambisols (shallow soils, occurring predominantly in areas with uneven topography), podzols (between latosols and cambisols, with a considerable increase in clay content, according to the depth), litholic soils (usually presenting a fine layer of sandy material atop the rock) and hydromorphic and alluvial soils, found on depressions associated with river canals.

1.4. NATURAL VEGETATIVE COVER

Vegetation undergoes a transition from cerrado to caatinga, with small patches of Atlantic Forest, presenting a significantly variable structure (height a density of trees). It is important to

ii emphasize that 96% of the Atlantic Forest and 75% of the cerrado in Minas Gerais were destroyed during a historic chaotic settlement process.

The cerrado is the characteristic vegetation cover of semi-humid climate areas, with two well defined seasons (dry and rainy seasons), resting predominantly on the sedimentary soils of the Brazilian Highlands. It presents gradations from xeromorphic forests (cerradões) to herbaceous- bushy formations (fields). Among the predominant species, there are the lixeira (Curatella americana), the pequi (Caryocar brasiliensis), pau-santo (Kielmeyera coriacea), pau terra (Qualea grandiflora) and the copaíba tree (Copaifera langsddorfii).

The caatinga found in the area is predominantly composed of trees, 6 to 8 m high. Among the main species, there are the aroeira (Schinus sp), brauna (Schinopsis sp), catingueira (Caesalpinia sp), umbuzeiro (Spondias tuberosa), several cactaceous, such as the mandacaru (Cereus jamacaru), xiquexique (Pilocereus gounelli) and cabeça de frade (Melocatctus sp).

Dry trees are the closest to caatinga vegetation found in the mapped area, being known as the dry forest. It is a transitional vegetation between the Forest and the caatinga. The cerrado encircles the dry trees, with shorter trunks and usually thicker barks, supporting firm branches more or less warped. Its structure varies according to the degree of dehydration they are subject to, loosing the leaves by mid-year. Other species found are the angico (Piptadenia sp.), catole (Syagrus Oleracea) and timbauba (Entereolobum contortisiliquum).

2. MATERIAL

2.1. TOPOGRAPHIC CHARTS

The work used 88 Topographic charts of IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) and of the Army’s Directory of Geographical Survey, in a 1:100,000 scale. The digital base on 1:100,000 scale, provided by CODEVASF, with vectorial data (hydrography, road network and referenced points) presented digitalization errors, such as merging and continuity of lines.

2.2. LANDSAT 5 SATELLITE IMAGES

This mapping used 13 images from the Landsat 5 Satellite, from 1995 and 1996. Bands 3, 4 and 5, in the R/4 G/5 B/3 color combination, were chosen for the job. In this composition, the areas with more vegetation are displayed in reddish tones, those with less vegetation in greenish and those with water or high humidity in blue. Figure 2 presents the articulation between the used IBGE charts and Landsat 5 images.

iii Órbita-Ponto Data 218_71 21/12/95 218_72 07/07/95 218_73 13/10/96 218_74 15/08/95 219_70 08/02/95 219_71 21/12/95 219_72 31/08/95 219_73 02/10/95 219_74 15/08/95 220_70 21/07/95 220_71 21/07/95 220_72 21/07/95 220_73 29/01/96

Figure 3 – Articulation of IBGE´s topographic charts and Landsat 5 images

3. METHODOLOGY

3.1 DEFINITION OF CARTOGRAPHIC PARAMETERS

The adopted projection system was the Universal Transverse Mercator projection, the Córrego Alegre Horizontal Datum, the vertical datum from the marigraph at Imbituba (SC) and the 1967 New International ellipsoid reference, Zone 23, South. The minimum dimension for the area to be interpreted was set in 0.1 Km2.

iv 3.2. LEGENDA

The adopted legenda represents the classes used in this work, for the diverse natural and anthropized existing areas, as described ahead:

Natural vegetation covers Anthropized covers Other Pasture Cerrado/Cerradão Water Cerrado Field Agriculture Clear field Irrigated area Rupestrian field Degraded area Riparian wood Urbanized area Dry forest Reforestation Atlantic Forest Floodplains Vereda Rock emergences

NATURAL VEGETATION COVERTURES

• Cerrado e Cerradão: Structurally formed by three strata (first, superior and arboreous). It might grow 8 to 12 meters high, in average (some specimens may emerge up to 20 meters).

• Cerrado Field: Intermediate vegetation form between the cerrado and the field. Its dossel reaches, in average, 10% coverture, with well distributed trees with up to three meters high. It is formed by small warped trees. It includes species such as the pau-santo (Eielmeyera corineae), a lixeira (Curatella americana), o murici (Brysonima spp.), a gomeira (Vochysia thyrsoidea).

• Clear Field: Predominantly herbaceous, with sparse bushes and lack of trees, with emphasis to grasses measuring from 3 mm to one meter.

• Rupestrian Field: Constituted by herbaceous strata, more or less continuous, and by permanently green bushes. Among other families, there are the Velloziaceae, the Xyridaceae and the Rubiaceae.

• Riparian woods: Following the water courses, usually in narrow strips, not exceeding 100 meters wide, in each margin. It is extremely important to the preservation of the springs. The most characteristic species are the pindaíba (Xylopia muricata), ipe (Tecoma heptaphila) and buriti (Mauritia flexuosa).

• Dry Forest: Transitional vegetation between the Forest and the caatinga, with smaller trunks, thicker barks and relatively warped branches. About 30% of the trees loose their leaves in the dry season. The found species are the angico (Piptadenia sp.), catolé (Syagrus Oleracea), timbauba (Entereolobum contortisiliquum) and camondongo (Pythecolobium olycephalum).

v • Atlantic Forest: With a rich biodiversity, it maintains springs and resources. It is the most endangered biome in . Lumber exploitation, agriculture and livestock raising expansion and real state speculation are among the most critical causes of destruction of the Atlantic Forest. It is characterized by the predominance of big trees, especially peroba (Aspidosperma sp), cedar (Cedrela fissilis), jatoba (Hymenaea sp) e an aroeira (Asttronium sp).

• Floodplains: Subject to periodic flooding, it occurs along rivers. Usually it contains trees with tabular roots, such as the sumauma (Ceiba pentandra).

• Vereda: Its simple structure is composed by a thin layer of herbaceous species, most of them grasslike species, ciperacea e pteridophyte, with occurrences of buriti trees (Mauritia flexuosa), its characteristic vegetation.

• Rock emergence: Presents exposed rock material, which may or may not be associated to the presence of vegetation.

ANTHROPIZED COVERTURES

• Pasture: This class includes brachiaria, buffel grass, colonial grass, guinea grass and jaragua grass, among other.

• Agriculture: Areas planted with anual or perennial crops.

• Irrigated Area: Area occupied with CODEVASF’s public irrigation perimeters, or by large private properties, where well oriented agriculture is practiced.

• Degraded Area: Areas with occurrences of gullies, with erosion processes in advanced stages.

• Urban Areas: Municipal Seats, villages and pueblos detected by the satellite images.

• Reforestation: Eucaliptos and pinus reforsted areas, mainly for charcoal production.

• Rock emergences: Exposed rock material, associated with the presence of vegetation.

OTHER

• Water: It accounts for rivers, lakes, lagoons and reservoirs.

3.3. EDITING VECTORIAL DATA

The digital cartographic base, in 1:100,000 scale, supplied by CODEVASF, including the road network and the referenced points, needed adjustments. Digitalization errors, such as merging and line continuity, were detected and corrected, thus improving the aesthetics of the vectorial data.

vi 3.4. IMAGE INTERPRETATION AND CLASSIFICATION

Significant corrections and/or image retouching were not necessary, as those had good quality. In order to have a unique coordinate system for all images, the 13 of them were transferred into a UNIX based workstation, maintaining the georeferencing used for the 1:100,000 sheets. The ERDAS Imagine 8.3 software was used for that purpose. A hundred distributed control points were used, resulting in na RMS transformation error of 0.7 m.

The image interpretation process took advantage of the combination of the original bands in color compositions. In that process, the six available Landsat 5 bands could be combined three by three. In view of the objectives of the work, bands 3, 4 and 5 were utilized, with the band 4 associated to the R (red) channel, band 5 to the G (green) and band 3 to the B (blue), which is technically known as the RGB/453 composition.

Even though the multispectral classification is efficient for identification of water, it was necessary to make use of digitalization and screen interpretation, as in the conflict areas, where pixels associated to distinct classes were hard to distinguish, given the similarity of the patterns.

3.5. EDITING SATELLITE IMAGES

After the supervised classification of the images, they were vectorized using the ArcInfo 7.3 software, viewing the creation of a database and the combination of the 88 classified sheets into one file. In this process, the spline, generalize and calculate commands were used, creating vectorial polygons with soft curves and eliminating polygons smaller than 0.1 km2. An editing process was implemented, to close open polygons and disconnected vectors, aligning and making them compatible.

3.6. FIELD STAGES

Two Field Visits were made, to verify in loco the reality of the mapped classes in the Upper São Francisco. Hard copies of the maps were printed and taken to the field and pictures were taken of the existing classes.

Equipped with a vehicle and a GPS (Global Positioning System), the two field visits departed from and ended in Belo Horizonte. The main doubts were related to the Dry Forest, Floodplains, Vereda, Degraded Areas and Pasture classes.

The first Field Visit was to the Northern part of Minas Gerais, to the Municipal Seats of Caetés, , , Corinto, Bocaiúva, Montes Claros, São Francisco, Manga, Montalvânia, Unaí, Paracatu, João Pinheiro, Pirapora and Três Marias. The second went to the Southern part of the mapped area, to the Cities of Contagem, , , , , Conselheiro Lafaete, Oliveira, , Arcos, , Bom Despacho, Pará de Minas, Itaúna, , Abaeté, São Gotardo and .

vii 4. MAPPING PRODUCTS

• Elaboration of the Final Report, describing the methodology and presenting the mapping products;

• Preparing and plotting the Land Use and Vegetative Covertures in the upper São Francisco Basin, in the 1:600,000;

• Creation of the ”jpg” files , for plotting the maps;

• Conversion of the vectorial data used in the work, to the shp and apr formats (ArcView 3.2), and recording in CD-ROM.

5. CONCLUSIONS

This work consisted of recovering thematic land use mapping information, collected by CODEVASF, in 88 sheets in 1:100,000 scale, to create a digital information base on vegetation cover and land use. The available information included Landsat 5 images, from 1995 and 1996, backed by terrestrial verification. No flights were made over the area. The original work was limited to the land use classification in the 88 sheets, one by one, not aiming at homogenization of the classes.

The integrated mapping of the Upper São Francisco sheets was objectively done. Nevertheless, this areas exceeds the traditional boundaries of Upper São Francisco, as defined in the available literature. Analyses of the spatial distribution of the diverse classes of land use and vegetative covers were carried out for the integrated area, leaving out the analyses of individual sheets. Actually, the work focused on the homogenization of the mapped classes, so that they could be presented in the same map, for assessment of the results.

Figure 3 displays a map of the area under study. The predominant classes are the Clear Field (31%), Cerrado Field (17%), Pasture (15%) and Cerrado/Cerradão (15%). The other classes had percentages inferior to 5%. The map presents the degraded areas, especially in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, where there is intensive exploitation of minerals. Spread over 320.7 km², it corresponds to 0.2% of the total area.

Chart 1 presents the areas and respective percentage distribution of the different classes used in the mapping. Figure 4 shows the distribution (%) of the classes, with respect to the total area.

The summation of all classes associated with Natural Vegetation Covertures corresponds to 75.5% of the mapped area. This value is not compatible with the economic activities being carried out there, according to information from State agencies and IBGE. One of the reasons for this distortion might be related to the Clear Field Class, which is also used as natural pasture (livestock raising is the predominant activity in the area).

viii

Figure 3- Land Use Mapping of the Upper São Francisco.

ix Chart 1 – Areas and percentage distribution of the different classes in the Upper São Francisco.

Class Area (km2) % of total area

Cerrado/Cerradão 24,586.9 15.0

Clear Field 51,158.9 31.0

Cerrado Field 28,175.5 17.1

Rupestrian Field 2,447.7 1.5

Atlantic Forest 1,942.2 1.2

Riparian Woods 6,274.8 3.8

Dry Forest 5,003.0 3.0

Vereda 1,861.7 1.1

Floodplains 1,671.0 1.0

Rock emergence 1,271.7 0.8

Agriculture 4,420.2 2.7

Pasture 24,529.0 15.0

Reforestation 7,965.3 4.8

Irrigated Area 274.8 0.2

Urbanized Areas 1,122.0 0.7

Water 1,930.3 1.2

Degraded Area 320.7 0.2

Total 164.955,7 Km2 100%

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Figura 4- Areas and percentages of the Classes in the Upper São Francisco.

5.1. GROUPED CATEGORIES

For easier analysis of the results, the classes in the thematic mapping of the Upper São Francisco were grouped according to four categories: Natural Vegetation Covertures, Clear Fields, Anthropized Covers and Other.

• NATURAL VEGETATION COVERTURES

Nine classes were considered in the natural vegetation covers: Cerrado/Cerradão, Cerrado Fields, Rupestrian Fields, Atlantic Forest, Riparian Woods, Dry Forest, Rock Emergence, Vereda and 2). Floodplains, accounting for 44.4% of the total area (73,234.5 km .

• CLEAR FIELDS

In the Clear Field category, no other classes were included and it was not considered as part of the Natural Vegetation Covers, as the area is already being used for economic activities. It might be considered as resultant of anthropic alteration of the cerrado’s physiognomy, or being used as natural grazing land. The category covers 31% of the total mapped area, corresponding to 2 51,158.9 km .

xi • ANTHROPIZED COVERTURES

The anthropized areas are represented by six classes which suffered direct anthropic intervention: Agriculture, Pasture, Reforestation, Irrigated Areas, Urbanized Areas and degraded Areas. They correspond to 23.4% of the mapped area, or 38,632.0 Km2.

• OTHER

Only the WaterCategory was considered here (rivers, lakes, lagoons and reservoirs), representing 1.2% of the mapped area. Figure 5 and Chart 2 present the four categories of grouped classes.

Figure 5- Land Use Mapping in the Upper São Francisco, by Category.

xii Chart 2 – Distribution of areas and percentages of the four categories of grouped classes. Categories area (km2) % of total area

Natural Vegetation Covertures 73,234. 44.4% Clear Field 51,158. 31.0% Anthropized Covers 38,632.0 23.4% Other 1,930.3 1.2%

Total 164,55.7 Km2 100%

6. RECOMMENDATIONS

The current stage of the mapping of the physiographic regions of the São Francisco River Basin was shown in Figure 10 of the Executive Summary of the Mapping of the Lower São Francisco, presented in earlier pages. The figure makes evident that most of the area is still to be mapped or already requires updating.

It is recommended to extend the remote sensing orbital coverture to the Middle São Francisco, in addition to carrying out the updating of the Upper sector, mapped by CODEVASF (1996) and recovered and edited by The GEF GEF São Francisco Project.

6.1. THEMATIC MAPPING EXECUTION AND UPDATING SCHEDULE

It was verified that anthropization levels are high in the Upper, Middle-Lower and Lower São Francisco. Even though degradation is not intense, the high level of human impacts determines the need for a regular and permanent supervision of the area, given that the interface between the anthropized and the degraded areas is very tenuous.

Based on these facts and on the anthropization indices estimated for the mapped areas, varying from 50% to 75%, a new time schedule was prepared for updating the maps. The Schedule is also shown in Figure 11 of the Executive Summary of the Lower São Francisco Mapping.

The program considers 3-year intervals for the new mappings. It is emphatically recommended that the basic methodology be maintained, so that the new products can be comparatively analyzed. In this way, the material might be used for multi-temporal evaluations, extremely useful and conclusive with respect to the evolution of degradation and of the land use patterns.

xiii 6.2. MAPPING THE MIDDLE SÃO FRANCISCO The Project will be carried out by a team of seven consultants, experts in digital cartography, remote sensing, photo-interpretation, geoprocessing and in GIS, to be contracted exclusively for that purpose. The work will have a 12-month duration, at estimated costs equivalent to US$346,040, including a counterpart of US$250,000 from CODEVAF, as detailed in Chart 3.

Chart 3 – Estimated costs for the Middle São Francisco Mapping Project (values in US$). DISCRIMINATION partial Total

10 – Activity’s personnel 210,000 1200 – Consulting services 210,000 1201 – (7 consultants, at 2,500/month x 12 months) 210,000 1600 – Trips 11,040 1601 – 12 (twelve) airline tickets 6,000 1602 – 80 (eighty) Daily allowances 5,040

1999 TOTAL OF COMPONENT 221,040 221,040

40 – Material 15,000 4100 – Working Material 4101 – Office supplies 15,000

4999 TOTAL OF COMPONENT 15,000 15,000

50 – Diverse 110,000 Maintenance 20,000 Satellite images 30,000 Helicopter rental 60,000

5999 TOTAL OF COMPONENT 110,000 110,000

TOTAL 346,040 346,040

CODEVASF’s COUNTERPART 250,000 250,000

TOTAL FOR PROJECT 596,040 596,040

xiv 6.3. UPDATING THE UPPER SÃO FRANCISCO The Project for updating the Upper São Francisco will be carried out by a team of six consultants, with expertises similar to those indicated for the previous proposal. The duration of the work will be 10 months, with an estimated budget of US$272,410. In this Project, CODEVASF’s counterpoart will be of US$200,000, as detailed in Chart 4.

Chart 4 – Estimated costs for Updating the Upper São Francisco (values in US$). DISCRIMINAÇÃO Parcial Total 10 – Activity’s personnel 150,000 1200 – Consulting services 150,000 1201 – (6 consultants, at 2,500/month x 10 months) 150,000 1600 – Trips 9,410 1601 – 10 (tem) airline tickets 5,000 1602 – 70 (seventy) Daily allowances 4,410 1999 TOTAL OF COMPONENT 159,410 159,410 40 – Material 13,000 4100 – Working Material 4101 – Office supplies 13,000 4999 TOTAL OF COMPONENT 13,000 13,000 50 – Diverse 100,000 Maintenance 15,000 Satellite images 25,000 Helicopter rental 60,000 5999 TOTAL OF COMPONENT 100,000 100,000 TOTAL 272,410 272,410 CODEVASF’s COUNTERPART 200,000 200,000 TOTAL FOR PROJECT 472,410 472,410

These recommendations for the Middle and Upper São Francisco should be considered in the preparation of the Strategic Actions Plan, to be developed with subsidies presented by the diverse Activities of the GEF São Francisco Project.

xv