POTENCIAL DE USO CONSERVACIONISTA (PUC) NA BACIA HIDROGRÁFICA DO CÓRREGO POÇÃO

Abstract

The Conservationist Use Potential - CUP, a method designed to complement the Environmental and Productive Zoning - EPZ of Watersheds, has been seeking to understand the environmental relationships for the planning of conservationist soil use, so that this soil can be utilized in an environmentally correct manner. The Poção Stream watershed is located in the municipality of Rio Verde. It was chosen so that it would be possible to map the Conservationist Use Potential - CUP through remote sensing and evaluate its respective potential for natural use. The study area is a watershed of great relevance to agricultural and livestock activities, bringing significant economic importance to the area. In order for the application of the CUP method to be successful, data on geodiversity, soil, and slope of the region where the watershed is located were used. Weights were assigned to the variables used, allowing the determination of the CUP levels of the Poção Stream watershed. These levels were compared with the land use and land cover map of the region. Through this analysis, it was concluded that the agricultural class had the highest coverage in the watershed at low, high, and very high levels. This demonstrates that it is a region where agriculture and livestock are the economic activities due to the soil and the relief of the area. Based on the CUP Matrix, it can be noted that this is a watershed with a high level of conservationist use of economic activity due to the soils present in the region. It is an area with less susceptibility to erosive processes.