Geoecologia das paisagens aplicada ao planejamento e gestão ambiental da bacia hidrográfica do Rio Puraquequara – AM

Abstract

The landscape is a changing natural spatial organization of harmonious connections that can arouse the interest of human groups with different intentions, such as domestication, exploitation, or simply habitation. The natural resources that permeate it are crucial for maintaining its pristine state; however, they can influence or accelerate the degree of deformation of structural parts at various temporal and spatial scales. The need to adopt a model consistent with the physical attributes of each unit becomes paramount and maintains the sustainable evolution of its internal order. In this context, the Puraquequara River basin lies in the easternmost part of the municipality of Manaus (AM), a system composed of dryland and riverine territorial complexes connected to the Amazon River. The spatial boundary encompasses a mosaic of landscapes intermingled with urban, agricultural, and riverine land uses, configuring anthroponatural and natural cells. The Industrial sprawl and the need to expand the road system are transforming parts of the landscape into urban environments, disregarding their inherent regularities, impacting and altering the structural conditions and, consequently, the functions inherent to the hydrological functioning of the study area. The research sought to analyze and diagnose, through the concept of Landscape Geoecology, the territorial planning of the geoecological units that make up the analyzed river basin, as well as to propose an alternative environmental zoning appropriate to the socio-spatial reality. Thus, four units were delineated for the area: the Igapó River Plain; Convex and Tabular Hills with Dense Ombrophilous Forests; and Terraces with Dense Ombrophilous Alluvial Forests. To plan territorial and environmental management, six zones were defined: Multiple Uses; Recovery and Sustainable Use; Special Shared Use; Special Uses; Controlled Use; and Consolidated Uses. The studies present recommendations based not only on geoecological aspects but also on the problems and limitations observed during the field research.