Avaliação da estrutura da paisagem visando à conservação da biodiversidade em paisagem urbanizada

Considering that urban sprawl and the increase in anthropogenic activities lead to natural habitats loss and fragmentation, threatening biodiversity, the conservation of urban forest remnants is extremely important for the persistence of native fauna and flora species. The objective of this study was to evaluate the landscape structure of an urbanized area in the Atlantic Forest biome, using geoprocessing techniques and fundamentals of Landscape Ecology, in order to provide subsidies for forest conservation in the urban landscape. A land use/land cover map was used to quantify forest cover and to evaluate the landscape structure. Landscape metrics quantified the area, shape and proximity of the forest remnants, providing indicators of the landscape structure. Forest covers 22.9% of the study area, with only 3.6% of the fragments larger than 50 ha. The majority of the fragments (83%) has an area of less than 10 ha. Only three remnants are larger than 500 ha, the largest of them is located in Ipanema National Forest. Most forest fragments (80%) are located in particular properties. The landscape was diagnosed as highly anthropized and fragmented, but with remnants close to each other (NEAR < 50m) potentiating the movement of species in the anthropic matrix. Scenarios of exclusion of small fragments demonstrated the fragility of the matrix without their support, since the small remnants contribute to the connection between the larger ones. The anthropic grassland is the second largest land use class in the study area (20.4%), behind only the urbanized area (25%). Actions to maintain biodiversity in anthropized landscapes such as the study area should prioritize the restoration of anthropic grasslands, incentives for forest conservation in private properties and the maintenance of small fragments in the landscape, in order to promote the connection between large forest areas. Urban and environmental planning of cities should be aligned and based on scientific studies on the spatialization of the vegetation in urban areas.