Integrated management of river basins: Possibilities and advances in the analysis of land use and land cover

Abstract

Studies on the management of river basins with a geographic approach have not yet been widely disseminated; thus, this paper provides a proposal aimed at contributing to advances in this field, through the applications of geo-technologies to the analysis of the integrated management of the Lajeado Amarelo river basin, in Três Lagoas, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Results were obtained by applying a systemic approach as the basis of the integrated management, as well as through a theoretical and technical discussion regarding the study of river basins. The management of this particular river basin was addressed on the basis of the analysis of types of land use and the assessment of their impacts (according to the management of the river). The article also analyzes the influence of each type of land use on the conservation of the basin and makes proposals for changing land use and their viability.