This work had the objective to evaluate the land use in the northern region of the Environmental Protection Area of Descoberto River, which encompasses the watersheds of the streams Barrocão, Bucanhão and Capão da Onça, accomplished with the support of geoprocessing techniques. A land use map of the area was produced through analysis and treatment of SPOT 4 satellite images, obtained in 2003, using the software ENVI 3.6. Then, the adequation of land use was checked using cross-tabulation between the maps of present and potential use for agriculture, with the software ArcView 8.3, allowing development of a map of land use suitability. The results showed that most of the area has been used under its agricultural potential, characterizing sustainability in the use of the natural resources, particularly of the soils.
land capability; geoprocessing; watersheds; remote sensing; geographical information system
