Dinâmica espaço-temporal do uso e ocupação do solo em uma bacia urbana no município de Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará

Abstract

Accelerated urbanization has promoted significant transformations in land use and land cover, directly affecting the hydrological dynamics of urban watersheds. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal evolution of land use and land cover in the Apuc Lagoon watershed, located in the municipality of Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará State, Brazil, from 2000 to 2024. The methodology was based on supervised classification of satellite images and the integrated analysis of rainfall data using geoprocessing techniques. The results indicate a continuous process of urban expansion, with a cumulative increase of 10.89% in urbanized areas, accompanied by a progressive reduction of natural vegetation and agricultural land uses. This pattern intensified soil impermeabilization, reduced water infiltration, and increased surface runoff, thereby enhancing susceptibility to recurrent flooding in specific sectors of the watershed. The study contributes to applied physical geography by demonstrating, at the watershed scale, how urban expansion conditions hydrological functioning in semi-arid environments, providing technical support for territorial planning and urban stormwater management.