Environmental impacts caused by roads and trails in the Altomontana Private Reserve, Itamonte, Minas Gerais

Abstract

The adequate planning and management of highways contribute to reducing environmental impacts. In conservation units, the evaluation of possible environmental impacts caused by roads has facilitated the adoption of preventive action, with a view to avoiding biodiversity loss. In this sense, impacts caused by roads and trails in the Altomontana Private Reserve, Itamonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, were assessed, as a means of obtaining information for improving road and trail management in the unit, as well as mitigating those impacts that generate local environmental degradation. Internal roadways of the property were scoured, and points along the altitude gradient marked. A grading impact array was used for standardizing observations. Marks of 0 to 3 were attributed to characterizing the intensity of impacts, with positive or negative signs added, according to the type of impact. Among the observed environmental impacts caused by roads, erosion, the most outstanding variable, occurred at all altitudes, with discarded waste as runner up. All told, local vegetation appeared to be well-conserved, with the variation in altitude favoring the formation of various physiognomies, thereby constituting an appropriate environment for developing local community activities as part of environmental education programs.