Characterizing and mapping intensity of land use in large basins through the concept of land use capability

Land use and land cover (LULC) planning stands out for listing potentials and limitations to land use aiming to reduce erosion to tolerable limits based on soil characteristics, relief, and socioeconomic aspects of landowners. To demonstrate the possibilities and limitations of agroecosystems diagnosis in large basins through the concept of land use capability, this work proposed a methodology for agro-environmental diagnosis applied to the Doce river basin (DRB) that was validated based on google earth images samples and suspend soil concentration in rivers. The methodology consisted of comparing the land use capability with the intensity of use caused by the LULC. The results showed that DRB is suited for intensive conservationist agricultural uses. However, some regions, are suitable for more intense agricultural activities. The factors regarding relief (slope and recharge) are the most restrictive ones to more intensive use in the basin. Pasture is the main use in the Doce river basin and had the highest percentage of areas used above the land use capability, followed by perennial agriculture and eucalyptus. The methodology of agro-environmental diagnosis based on the concept of land use capability was considered adequate for the diagnosis of agroecosystems at DRB since at a local scale, it was estimated accuracy of 95.5% of the number of exceeding classes in 45 sampled polygons and, at a regional scale, the linear regression between soil use and management index (Ium) and suspended soil concentration in rivers at Hydrographic Regions obtained an R-2, RMSEN, and NSE of 0.79, 0.12, and 0.74.