Proposal for the use of riparian areas to mitigate the impact of urbanization in landscape fragmentation

摘要: The landscape fragmentation is one of the main factors that weaken the remnants of vegetation in areas of urban expansion. A strategy that may mitigate these impacts is the application of the green and blue infrastructure concept, which includes the creation of green corridors in the riparian areas. This paper aims to characterize this phenomenon by analysing the evolution of urban occupation in two hydrographic basins located in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and the use of landscape metrics for its quantification. When the fragmentation increased in the period between 1985 and 2017, we started with the proposal of strategies for the management of the landscape, with the development of occupation scenarios that allow the connectivity increase, by means of the recovery of marginal areas to the watercourses. Results show that a realistic scenario, which consider the recovery of riparian areas not densely urbanized, can improve green areas connectivity to levels better than 1985's.