Análise da fragilidade ambiental da Floresta Nacional do Araripe por meio de técnicas de sensoriamento remoto

Abstract

The Araripe National Forest (FLONA), created in 1946 and expanded in 2012, is the first Conservation Unit (CU) of this category in Brazil. Despite its ecological importance, the region faces significant environmental challenges, such as deforestation and fires, both in its surroundings and within the FLONA itself, compromising the biodiversity and sustainability of the ecosystem. This study applies Ross's (1994) empirical environmental fragility methodology, adapted by Amorim (2023), to analyze the interaction between physical and biotic components, such as relief, soil, geology, climate and land use and cover. The methodology classifies areas into potential fragility (PF), which identifies natural characteristics, and emerging fragility (EF), which reflects anthropogenic alterations, using five levels of fragility (1 - Very low, 2 - Low, 3 - Medium, 4 - High and 5 - Very high). The results indicate a predominance of areas with low susceptibility to environmental impacts, both natural and anthropogenic, with only 1.99% and 0.05% of the areas showing medium fragility, respectively. This analysis contributes to understanding degradation processes and supports conservation and sustainable management strategies for the FLONA.