Multicriteria analysis of erosion susceptibility in the Batateira River Basin, CE

Abstract

The catchment area of the Batateira river, located in southern Ceará, is undergoing an accelerated erosion process, due to the inadequate use of the soil in the area. Thus, this work aimed at mapping the susceptibility to erosion in the Batateira Basin, aiming to guide land use and assist decision making in identifying areas that are essential for the preservation of the environment and conservation measures. The cartographic bases of the region were used to obtain layers of spatial information (classes of soils, slope, elevation, geology, geomorphology and land use / cover) that were crossed in a GIS environment by means of multicriteria analysis to define the vulnerability of the basin. The results showed that more than 56% of the study area presents a strong susceptibility to erosion, marked by the presence of forest vegetation with agricultural areas, natural pasture (caatinga), and cattle ranching, declivities above 20% with red argisols, yellow latosols and quartzarenic neosols.