Spatiotemporal analysis of the Atlantic Forest remnants of vegetation cover in a coastal city in southern Brazil

Understanding the ecological relationships of the forest fragments makes possible the application of a correct environmental management, favoring its conservation and the restoration of degraded areas. Considering it, a spatiotemporal analysis was performed based on the landscape metrics, aiming to measure the quality of forest fragments in the city of Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil, in the period between 1985 and 2019. This analysis used landscape metrics of size, edge, and shape, with a posterior statistical analysis in order to verify if there were significant alterations in the landscape during the studied period. The results revealed suppression of 774 forest fragments in the city, with area reduction of 65.94 km2, highlighting the suppression of small fragments, especially in the urban perimeter and adjacent areas, as well as reduction of 35% in the mangrove area. The landscape metrics pointed out a logic reduction of the edge effect, increase of the average area of forest fragments, increase in the number of fragments with less complex morphology, and reduction of the connectivity between forest fragments because of the decrease of ecological corridors. The main identified anthropic pressure involved in ecological change was the urban sprawl. In answer, the city hall has implemented priority actions, aiming to keep and restore the ecological functions of the forest fragments in the city.