Apropriação do relevo e fragilidade ambiental: estudo de caso nas bacias hidrográficas dos Rios Toropi e Ibicuí-Mirim, RS

• Ano de defesa: 2026
• Autor(a) principal: Arrial, Gustavo Soares
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria; Brasil; UFSM; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geografia; Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas
• Palavras-chave em Português: Fragilidade ambiental; Apropriação do relevo; Estrutura fundiária; Processos erosivos; Bacias hidrográficas; Environmental fragility; Land appropriation; Land structure; Erosive processes; Hydrographic basins; CNPQ::CIENCIAS HUMANAS::GEOGRAFIA
• Link de acesso: http://repositorio.ufsm.br/handle/1/39203

The intensification of extreme weather events and environmental degradation processes highlights the need to understand how land occupation patterns are linked to the natural conditions of the physical environment. In this context, this dissertation aimed to analyze the appropriation of relief in the hydrographic basins of the Toropi and Ibicuí-mirim rivers, located in Rio Grande do Sul, based on the integration between environmental fragility, erosive processes, and land structure. The research was based on a systemic approach, the concept of environmental fragility, and the discussion on the appropriation of relief, seeking to understand how the distribution of rural properties relates to geomorphological, pedological, geological, climatic, and land use and cover conditions. To this end, maps of Relief Fragility, Potential Fragility, and Emerging Fragility were created, based on the methodology of Ross (1994) and the adaptations proposed by Gouveia and Ross (2019). The variables used involved the compartmentalization of the relief by Geomorphons, slope, geology, soils, climate, and land use and land cover, processed in Geographic Information Systems. The land structure was analyzed based on the size of rural properties, allowing for a comparison between the distribution of properties and the different degrees of environmental fragility. The results demonstrated that the areas of greatest relief fragility are concentrated on the slopes associated with the transition between the plateau and the depression. Potential Fragility indicated a predominance of high and very high classes, mainly associated with the presence of steep slopes, Neosols, more susceptible geological formations, and rainfall erosivity. Emerging Fragility highlighted the role of agricultural activities in the reorganization of fragility levels, especially through the replacement of native vegetation with crops and pastures. Land structure analysis showed that smallholdings represent 83.43% of rural properties, but occupy only 33.81% of the total area, disproportionately concentrated in more fragile zones. It is concluded that environmental fragility in the studied basins results not only from natural factors, but also from the interplay between the physical environment and historical processes of unequal land appropriation, revealing the reproduction of socio-spatial inequalities in the appropriation of landforms.