MONITORING ATLANTIC FOREST DEFORESTATION BY REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest (MA) is a biodiversity hotspot, subject to historic and intense deforestation. Currently, three main monitoring systems based on satellite images monitor deforestation in the MA: The Atlas of forest remnants (SOS Mata Atlântica/INPE), MapBiomas, and PRODES-MA. To understand the contribution of each system and better interpret its results, this work presents their differences in concepts, methodologies, and characteristics. The Atlas has been fundamental for the definition of municipal and state public policies. MapBiomas highlights the main land cover class conversions, and PRODES-MA is a reference for the national climate change policy. The methodological advances foreseen with the use of better-resolution images and semi-automatic detection techniques are also identified. Observing the nature, advantages, and limitations of each system enables us to identify the complementarity of the information to better communicate monitoring data and contribute to the prevention, control, and mitigation of deforestation in the Atlantic Forest