The changes in the use and occupation of land, caused by human actions, have created major impacts on the landscapes. These impacts can be mitigated by monitoring the use and land cover, using spatial and temporal information of the changes occurring in the landscape. This paper presents a detailed analysis of spatial and temporal dynamics of land use and occupation of the stream São Paulo watershed, located in the semiarid region of Pernambuco State, during the period from 1991 to 2010. Based on the classification of three satellite images for the years 1991, 2000 and 2010, transition matrices were used associated with the algebra of maps, and landscape metrics. The results showed that during the studied period, the classes of land use and occupation went through a major transition, with the gradual replacement of sparse area of 'caatinga' vegetation by grazing areas/agriculture. Along with the rapid growth of the grazing areas/agriculture class, the predominant landscape of native vegetation has been replaced by a landscape increasingly devastated, fragmented and heterogeneous, as shown by the index of landscape metrics.
remote sensing; landscape metrics; semiarid region
