Modeling of the soil erosion control ecosystem service in a municipality sustainable to desertification in Northe AST Brazil

Abstract

Ecosystem services are tangible and intangible goods that derive from ecosystems, which are used for human benefit and well-being. In view of this, techniques of control and loss of natural resources such as the USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) are presented as an effective tool in the identification of areas with a high degree of instability for land use planning and planning. Therefore, this work aims to identify the ecosystem services of regulation and erosion control in the municipality of Ouro Branco-RN. In this research, the laminar soil loss analysis method was used through the Geographic Information System (GIS), using the USLE. The vegetation cover mapping was performed through object-oriented supervised classification, with the help of Qgis 3.26.0 software. As a result, 05 classes of vegetation cover were obtained for factor C, they are: exposed soil, irrigated agriculture, open Caatinga and dense Caatinga, in addition to the identification of water bodies, classified as Water. Regarding the mapping of ecosystem services, only regulation and maintenance services were used, as these services are directed to the functioning of ecosystems and their ecological processes that help in the regulation of environmental characteristics that can interfere with human well-being. However, we can conclude that the areas that suffer the most soil loss are precisely in degraded, elevated and sloping areas, showing the need for public policies for the recovery and preservation of these environments. Supporting the identification of priority areas in the effective application of environmental legislation.