Timber exploitation activities have grown significantly in the Amazon region, in spite of efforts to control and monitor made by environmental agencies, which are seeking to establish regulations for forest sustainable use. Satellite images and data processing techniques are important tools to subsidize the processes of characterization, inventory and monitoring of forest cover in Brazil. In this context, the objective of this study is to analyze the influence of the road net on the spatial distribution of timber exploitation areas, as well as to quantify this type of practice in areas of permanent protection. A test-site located in Mato Grosso State (MT), with intense logging activity, was used, where several Information Plans (IP's), derived from Landsat-TM, were processed by spatial analysis techniques, using algebraic operators for decision-making. The resulting analysis shows a significant relation between the dimensions of timber exploitation areas and the closeness to the road network, moreover, that the selective cutting areas occurred also in those sections defined as permanent preservation areas adjacent to road network.
Tropical rain forest; remote sensing; geographic information systems; monitoring e Amazon
