Avaliação da Capacidade de Uso das Terras em sub-bacias hidrográficas sob cultivo de café

Abstract

Soil is a non-renewable natural resource on the human time scale. Fundamental for the existence of humanity, its planned use guarantees the maintenance of ecosystems, food security and protection of biodiversity. The exploitation of pedological covers by agriculture has accelerated erosion processes, contributing to the degradation of soil and water. This erosion must be understood in order to maintain or increase agricultural productivity and environmental conservation, favoring the sustainability of agroecosystems. Coffee growing is one of the most dynamic sectors of agriculture in the state of Minas Gerais, due to its large income and labor generation. In addition, the expansion of coffee growing in the region is one of the factors responsible for adverse changes in landscapes and natural vegetation. In order to guarantee the conservation of the soil and natural resources, it is essential to use the soil, observing its capacity for use. The Usage Capacity System is a tool used to classify land for a given type of use based on its morphological characteristics. It makes it possible to propose a classification of land use according to its potential, which can help in the preparation of sustainable management plans. The purposes of this study are aimed at evaluating the Land Use Capacity of two sub-basins located in the south of Minas Gerais, whose predominant use and occupation are coffee growing. In both sub-basins, the predominant usability class was VI, demonstrating some limitations for agricultural use. Analyzing the current use and capacity of use, it was possible to verify that there is a large amount of underutilized land and almost half of the sub-basins used according to the capacity of use. Less than 10% of sub-basin areas are overused. The underutilized areas can be considered as at the limit of use. Thus, these are areas that need attention and the implementation of sustainable management plans so that they do not exceed their capacity for use.