This studied verified the application of the Brazilian Forest Code (CFB) in the Santa Maria creek basin, in northwestern Rio de Janeiro, as a support to environmental planning. This basin is fully located in the county of São José de Ubá, and it has been subject to different processes of soil use and occupation, resulting in water and erosion problems. In order to perform the study, a map of current soil use and occupation was designed through automatic supervised classification, using air photos of Companhia de Energia do Rio de Janeiro -CERJ (Rio de Janeiro Power Company) and Mineral Resources Department -DRM/RJ. In order to design the map of soil use and occupation in compliance with the scenario established in article 2 of the CFB, a surrounding belt (buffer zone) was created. The results show that there would be conflicts between the CFB application and the current use of areas for agriculture, animal husbandry, exposed soil and urban area. In agriculture and animal husbandry, the conflicting use could be softened with adequate handling and conservation practices. Applying the CFB would significantly contribute to increasing APP (forest), promoting increased water seepage in soil and water system recharge, and decreasing overland runoff and soil erosion.
Hydrographic Basin; Brazilian Forest Code; Soil Erosion
