Identificação da cobertura do solo após os desmatamentos no ano agrícola 2010 - 2011

The historical exploitation of water, minerals, plants and human resources in the state of Minas Gerais have brought negative impacts to the entire region. High levels of environmental devastation have already placed two biomes of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil – the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado – on the list of "hotspots" of biodiversity, which are regions of priority for conservation worldwide. This is a very complex problem, but most of these events are related to historical, cultural and economic facts. Nowadays, the use of remote sensing imagery and geographic information systems in environmental analysis has become an increasingly common practice among various research areas. Monitoring program released datas from SOS Atlantic Forest Foundation and the Brazilian National Institute of Space Research (INPE) showed that 13,312 hectares, or 133 km² were deforested in the period of 2010 to 2011, taking Minas Gerais as one of the states in the most critical situation, particularly in regions with dry forests. Thus, this study aimed to identify the new land use on deforestated areas between 2010 to2011, using remote sensing imagery of high spatial resolution. The results showed that the main land use after deforestation was pasture plantations for livestock following by eucalipto plantations and agriculture.