Definição de unidades geoambientais na bacia hidrográfica do rio Itu – oeste do RS

Abstract

The study of the environment, knowing its resources and frailties, has been the work of the Laboratório de Geologia Ambiental (Environmental Geology Laboratory) (LAGEOLAM) – UFSM during the last 10 years. The West-southwestern region of Rio Grande do Sul State represents an area of high environmental degradation, which is linked to accelerated erosion, engendering ravines, gully erosion, and sands processes of soils. In this context, the study of the region has been developed in order to identify, mapping, or simply describe objects of the landscape which, because of natural forces or through human influence, has occasioned environment degradation through the augmented superficial dynamics which occurs in that areas. This work presents analysis and mapping geoenvironmental in the Itu river basin over an area of 2809,6 km² and 7th order, using a scale of 1:50.000. The theory and methodology of present study are holistic in outlook in that they tend toward a synthetic and multicomponent approach in alignment with geosystems theory and integrated geoenvironmental analysis. Geoenvironmental components are geologicalgeomorphological conditions, relief attributes, climatic conditions, soil, vegetation and human beings shaping the landscape. Finally, the analysis of all these documents together produced on the former phases generated the geoenvironmental map. This map indicates the possibilities and limitations for specific environmental occupation. The map was created using a GIS (Spring – INPE) and to designed Corel Draw 12. This map to be an auxiliary tool for regional development projects and basin’s resources management.