VULNERABILIDADE NATURAL À PERDA DO SOLO DA BACIA HIDROGRÁFICA DO CÓRREGO MUTUM, BONITO – MS

Abstract

This work presents the vulnerability of the Mutum Stream Watershed, located in the municipality of Bonito/MS, with a total area of 358 km². For the analysis, the methodology of Natural Vulnerability to Soil Loss, proposed by Crepani et al. (2001), was applied in order to assess the potential vulnerability (Vp), integrating the natural characteristics of the Basic Territorial Units – UTBs (geology, geomorphology, soils, climate, and past vegetation), and emergencial vulnerability (Ve), considering the impacts resulting from land use. The potential vulnerability indicated that the area has natural protection against soil loss, totaling 25.8% of the area with Stable vulnerability; 69.4% Moderately Stable and 4.8% Medianly Stable/Vulnerable. From the integration between potential vulnerability (Vp) and land use (1984, 1994, 2004, 2014, 2024), the emergencial vulnerability (Ve) was obtained. The land use and occupation maps were generated from satellite images, processed through geotechnologies in QGIS 3.22 software. The results showed significant changes in recent years, with the Moderately Vulnerable classes occupying the largest percentage of the area until 2014, indicating an intermediate fragility condition in the Mutum Stream Watershed. In 2024, with the development of agriculture, an inversion occurred in the land use class (from pasture to crop mosaics), intensifying the fragility of the area and raising the degree of Vulnerability to Vulnerable. The central area presented moderately vulnerable vulnerability, due to its potential stability characteristics, providing greater resistance to anthropic pressures. The most susceptible areas, associated with agricultural expansion, demand sustainable management practices to minimize environmental impacts and ensure soil conservation.