Mudanças no uso e cobertura da terra na Mata Atlântica e sua interface com a governança ambiental municipal

Abstract

The Atlantic Forest, historically subjected to intense processes of land occupation and land-use conversion, currently presents a mosaic of landscapes marked by fragmentation, secondary regeneration, and urban expansion. In this context, understanding the relationships between environmental governance, policy instruments, and land cover change dynamics becomes particularly important. This dissertation aimed to analyze changes in land use and land cover within the Atlantic Forest domain, focusing on the Lavras microregion (Minas Gerais, Brazil), and to discuss how environmental governance instruments can contribute to the formulation and strengthening of the Municipal Atlantic Forest Plan. The research was structured into two complementary chapters. The first chapter evaluated land-use dynamics between 1985 and 2024 in nine municipalities of the Lavras microregion, using data from MapBiomas Collection 10, remote sensing techniques, geoprocessing, and transition analysis between land-use classes. Regional trends, balances of loss and gain of native vegetation, and the specific behavior of Permanent Preservation Areas and Legal Reserves were analyzed. The results indicated a gradual reduction in pasture areas, continuous urban expansion, and an increase in secondary native vegetation, particularly from the 2000s onward, with emphasis on regeneration processes within Permanent Preservation Areas and Legal Reserves. The second chapter focused on the municipality of Lavras, articulating the observed land cover changes with aspects of municipal environmental governance, including legal instruments and institutional arrangements. This approach demonstrated that landscape dynamics do not occur homogeneously, being strongly conditioned by territorial vocations, urban and rural planning, and the institutional capacity to implement and integrate environmental policies at the local level. Taken together, the results show that, although pressures associated with urbanization and agricultural activities persist, there are consistent signs of native vegetation recovery, especially in legally protected areas. These findings reinforce the importance of strengthening municipal environmental governance and environmental policy instruments, with the Municipal Atlantic Forest Plan standing out as a strategic tool to guide conservation and restoration actions aligned with local specificities.