Deforestation Patterns Along the Highway Belem/Tome-Acu, Brazilian Amazonia.
Doris
Graziela
Navarro, 1. PhD. Program in Environmental Science, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, USA., 2. Anthropological Center for Training and Research on Global E, dgnavarr@indiana.edu
Scott
S.
Hetrick, 1. Anthropological Center for Training and Research on Global Environmental Change (ACT), Indiana University, USA., shetrick@indiana.edu
Eduardo
Sonnewend
Brondizio, 1. Anthropological Center for Training and Research on Global Environmental Change (ACT), Indiana University, USA., 2. Center for the Study of Institutions, Population, and En, ebrondiz@indiana.edu
(Presenting)
The Brazilian Amazonia has experienced important transformations in the last decades, as consequence of the intense development pressure in the region. Political and economic policies have facilitated colonization over recent years in many areas such as the region surrounding Tomé-Açú county, located 130 km south Belém, the capital of Pará State. Tomé-Açú was founded by Japanese immigrants in the beginning of twentieth century, and its economy is characterized by intensive agriculture, followed by agroforestry development and pasture formation. The construction of highways has favored the colonization process and agricultural projects between Tomé-Açú and Belém, which has caused significant environmental changes in this region. This work intends to analyze the temporal variation of the deforestation pattern and landscape transformation along of the highway PA-140 using Landsat Thematic Mapper images (TM and ETM+) from 1991 to 2002 period. This study aims to quantify the environment impacts of this highway between Belém/Tomé-Açú and subsidizes further research in the region.