OPEN Available on line at Directory of Open Access Journals Journal of JOURNAL Journal of Hyperspectral Remote Sensing v.7, n.6 (2017) 367-377 Hyperspectral SYSTEMS www.periodicos.ufpe.br/revistas/jhrs Remote Sensing ISSN:2237-2202 Evaluation of vegetation cover from IVDN vegetation indexes: possible effects of climate change at Catimbau National Park Rayane C. da Fonseca*, Neison C. F. Freire** *Bachelor Student of the Undergraduation Course of Cartographic and Surveying Engineering; Federal University of Pernambuco - UFPE, Av. Professor Morais Rego, s/n. Cidade Universitária, Recife/PE, Brasil. E-mail: [email protected]. (Corresponding author) **Doctor Professor - Titular Researcher at the Social Research Board of the Joaquim Nabuco Foundation, Recife - PE. E-mail: [email protected]. Received 13 June 2017; accepted 30 October 2017 Abstract The Catimbau National Park (Parna Catimbau) is an environmental conservation unit (CU) created by Decree Law No. 4,340, dated 08/22/2002, in accordance with Federal Law No. 9,985 (SNUC Law). This CU is characterized by being a National Archaeological Heritage by IPHAN and presenting a floristic diversity, which makes it an area of extreme biological importance. However, despite being a region defined by the Ministry of Environment as an integral protection unit, we can see in this area the presence of families and consequent anthropic activities such as agriculture, irrigated production, pastures and other agents that have been contributing to the modification of this Parna. This article aimed to map and evaluate the spectrum-temporal dynamics of the vegetation cover in the Catimbau National Park (PE) area and its possible relationships with climate change, in the period of 2003 and 2016. Remote Sensing techniques such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index - IVDN, whose values vary in the range of -1 to 1, were applied to the Vegetation study assisted by Landsat 5, TM sensor and Landsat 8, OLI sensor satellite images. The software SPRING was manipulated to create a geographic database and for the development of programming aided by LEGAL in order to correct atmospheric influences, among other parameters. The responses of these analyzes and their respective problematic of the potential contributing factors indicated changes in the vegetation cover with the highest increase for the anthropic area (0.107-0.207) and Soil / Outcrop (0.207-0.307) for the year 2016. These expansions are characteristics of physical, environmental and anthropogenic factors, where they all contribute for hazardous situations in the area. These results indicate the need for social and environmental studies to support environmental management of this conservation unit of the Caatinga biome. Keywords: Geoprocessing, Index Vegetation, Environmental Analysis. 1. Introduction (Institute of National Historical and Architectural The Catimbau National Park (Parna Catimbau) Heritage) (Martin, 1991; Silva and Maia, 2008; SIGEP, was created by Decree Law No. 4,340, dated 2010; Mendes, 2012). In addition, as a result of what 08/22/2002, accordingly with Federal Law Nº. 9,985 the area provides, as it has been mentioned, such as a (SNUC Law), which defines, in its Article 11th, that unique geological and geomorphological scenic national parks "have a basic objective, the preservation beauties, the Parna Catimbau was mentioned as an area of natural ecosystems of great ecological relevance and to become a Geopark in the Environmental, scenic beauty, enabling scientific research and Geomorphological and Archaeological categories by development of activities of education and Unesco (SIGEP, 2010). environmental interpretation, recreation in contact with The Parna Catimbau covers part of the nature and ecological tourism" (Santos, 2003). The area municipalities of Buíque, Tupanatinga and Ibimirim has several archaeological sites (dating to about 6,000 (Agreste, State of Pernambuco), being considered an years old BP) and brings occurrences of inscriptions area of extreme biological importance and priority for and rock paintings, being for this reason, transformed the conservation of the Caatinga biome due to into national archaeological patrimony by IPHAN presenting relevant numbers of endemisms and rare R.C. Fonseca, N.C.F. Freire / Journal of Hyperspectral Remote Sensing 7 (2017) 367-377 367 species (Sampaio et al., 2002). Figueiredo et al. (2000) discrimination of vegetation cover, for measuring plant and Andrade et al. (2004) describe vegetation vigour and biomass production. Jensen (2009) physiognomy of this Conservation Unit (CU) varies describes some appropriate factors for the applicability according to the type of soil, therefore it can be found of this index, these are the following: seasonal and vegetation from arboreal caatinga, of non-thorny yearly changes in the development and vegetation species, to shrubs with predominance of thorny species, activity that can be monitored, and the reason that which is a peculiar characteristic related to these xeric reduces many forms of multiplicative noise, for environments. example differences of solar irradiance, cloud shadows, Although this CU presents a legal mechanism some atmospheric attenuations, some topographic for its conservation and is defined by the SNUC variations, that are found in multiple bands of images (National System of Conservation Units) as an integral of multiple data. protection unit, the presence of families that live in the Large-scale and long-term ecological studies region is perceived (Azevedo and Bernard, 2015), as have been one of the main points in multidisciplinary well as the presence of indigenous groups, agricultural research on global climate change. The variation of production, livestock and ecotourism (Freire, 2013). A vegetation cover not only influences energy balance, recently published research, Freire et al. (2017), reveals climate, hydrological processes and biogeochemical that from 14 conservation units (CU’s) of integral cycles, but also indirectly illustrates the interaction protection of the Caatinga biome examined, Parna between climate, environment and anthropogenic Catimbau is one of the CU's with the highest activities (Heute and Warrick, 1990). Thus, the main environmental degradation index. The authors objective of this article is to map and evaluate the concluded that, in addition to the socioenvironmental dynamics of vegetation cover in the Parna Catimbau conflicts between farmers, squatters, indigenous area and its possible relationships with climatic populations and managers of ICMBIo (Chico Mendes changes using temporal indexes of IVDN, considering Institute for Biodiversity Conservation), there were the interval between two dates of the years 2003 and significant losses of caatinga physiognomies, especially 2016, obtained in the rainy season. in areas with rock vegetation in areas with natural wall This article was elaborated by virtue of results of sandstone - typical from this CU and with difficult obtained in the inter-institutional research Joaquim access. Nabuco Foundation and Federal University of Campina The detection of spatio-temporal changes in Grande entitled "Mapping and Spectro-Temporal vegetation cover can be facilitated by the use of Analysis of Conservation Units of Integral Protection Remote Sensing (RS) techniques. Wang (2012) of the Caatinga Biome of the Federal Administration" describes that RS is a tool that contributes to the (Freire et al., 2017), carried out between 2013 and monitoring of protection areas, since it provides 2016, as well as the contents of the course "Remote information that makes possible understanding and to Sensing and Environmental Monitoring". Ministered at realize the relationships between the past and present the Integrated Center for Georeferenced Studies for state. The use of RS techniques directed to the study of Social Research Mário Lacerda de Melo (CIEG/ vegetation with the application of Vegetation Indexes FUNDAJ, 2017). (VI’s), which are related, among other factors, to biophysical vegetation parameters such as biomass and 2. Materials and methods leaf area index (Formigoni et al., 2011). These VI’s allow obtaining different data about the biophysical 2.1 Study Area conditions of the vegetation, allowing spatial and The Parna Catimbau is located in the northeast temporal comparisons of terrestrial photosynthetic region of Brazil, in the central region of the State of activities that are influenced by the consequent actions Pernambuco and it represented by the geographical of the anthropical actions and, as a consequence, coordinates 8 ° 24 '00 "and 8 ° 36'35" S and 37 ° 09'30' promote desertification and loss of floristic variability and 37 ° 14'40 'W , with an area of 60,787ha, of which in the ecosystem (Jensen, 2009). 40.81% belongs to Ibimirim; 38.73% to Tupanatinga Among all the indexes the most well-known and 20.46% to of the municipality of Buíque (Siqueira, and applied is the Normalized Difference Vegetation 2006), as observed in Figure 1. Index(IVDN). IVDN is used for improving the R.C. Fonseca, N.C.F. Freire / Journal of Hyperspectral Remote Sensing 7 (2017) 367-377 368 Figure 1 - Location of the Catimbau National Park. Aragão and Peraro (1994) describe that this Table 1 - Total monthly precipitation of the CU is characterized by presenting a landscape formed municipalities bordering the Catimbau National Park. on sandstone rocks that is related to the Devonian period, presenting unique forms and reshaped by weathering. Parna Catimbau