FOREST FRAGMENTATION IN DIFFERENT LAND USE REGIMES: A CASE STUDY IN QUERÊNCIA-MT, LOCATED IN THE ARC OF DEFORESTATION, BRAZIL

Abstract

Deforestation and forest fragmentation in the arc of Amazonian deforestation is a topic widely debated. Forest patterns are unique in different territories, and governance should reflect their uniqueness. This article evaluates space-time evolution of deforestation and forest fragmentation in indigenous lands, rural properties, and rural settlements, in the municipality of Querência, state of Mato Grosso, in two different periods (1995 to 2005; 2005 to 2019). The results were analyzed in respect to different public policies implemented historically, enabling the proposition of an environmental restoration scenario. It was identified that deforestation and forest fragmentation vary according to territories. In the indigenous lands, 94% of the forest cover was maintained in the two analyzed periods, which indicates high conservation. In rural properties, in the first period there was an increase in deforestation and fragmentation motivated by regional occupation, and in the second, incipient deforestation and even improvement in the spatial arrangement of fragments, responding to what suggests a response to international pressures and national policies. In rural settlements occurred the greatest proportional deforestation and fragmentation of forests. Due to the historical condition of deforestation in rural settlements, a forest restoration scenario was proposed that can guide regional sustainable development policies at local and regional scales.