Landscape spatial and functional analysis applied to nature conservation planning in Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Abstract

The increasing urbanization observed in Atlantic Forest biome demands to know the processes at the landscape level to plan the rational use of natural resources, attending socioeconomic and biodiversity conservation issues. This study aimed to analyze the spatial and functional structure of the landscape of the region bounded by the border and hills of the beaches in Itajaí, Santa Catarina, and then subsidize the creation of an Environmental Protection Area (EPA). The construction of a land use and cover map, the determination of the model-species of the flora and their interactions with the local fauna are the methodological core that allowed to elucidate the spatial distribution of the matrix, patches and landscape corridors, it also allowed to understand the functional processes of landscape that should be considered in the conservation planning.