Distribuição geográfica e análise da representatividade ambiental das unidades de conservação da natureza no Ceará

Abstract

The way human societies are managing natural resources has degraded natural landscapes and devasted ecosystems, with a direct impact on the loss of biodiversity. The Caatinga is one of the most degraded biomes in Brazil, where the remaining vegetation comprises only about half of the original extent, placing it in an extreme situation for conservation. Although very degraded, the areas of the Caatinga are composed of a great diversity of landscapes and types of vegetation, denominated phytoecological units. With the emergence of environmental laws and Brazilian institutional mechanisms for protection of biodiversity, legal mechanisms have emerged, such as the Forest Code and the SNUC to protect natural ecosystems. But still one can question: how and how much are the ecosystems of each region of Brazil being protected? We address this topic here, investigating how much of the ecosystems in Ceará state are protected. With the aid of geoprocessing tools, we analysed the cover of nature reserves across the phytogeographical subdivisions of Ceará. We show here that only 7.5% of the state’s territory is protected by Conservation areas, and most of the protected areas are Sustainable Use Conservation Units, which offer less protection to biodiversity. Only 0.5% of the territory represents Full Protection Reserves, the categories that offer more protection to biodiversity. It was also shown that the ecosystem less protected by Sustainable Use reserves was the Cerrados Costeiros, with 0.05% protected in relation to its total area, as well as the Carnaubais and Caatinga do Cristalino. Among the group of Full Protection, the least representative phytoecological units were the Crystalline Caatinga and the Sedimentary Caatinga, without any protected area in this category. The map of priority areas for conservation indicates that half of these priority areas are located on the Caatinga do Cristalino, covering 27.52% of this ecosystem, which is little covered by Full Protection reserves. Phytoecological units with higher rainfall and humidity correspond to 42.5% of all priority areas in Ceará. These data suggest a need for greater focus on the conservation of Caatinga sensu stricto.