SECTORIALIZACIÓN JIERARQUIZADA DE PAISAJENS: el ejemplo de la sierra de Uruburetama en el semiarido brasileno (Ceará - Brasil)

Abstract

The studied region is a crystalin massif located in the North-east semi-arid area (“sertão” ) of Brazil. The cartography of the massif allowed to decompose its territory in sequential landscapes unities, simultaneously from larger to smaller and from heteregeneous to homogeneous. These unities have been regrouped in four differents hierarchical classes: Morphosctructural Complex, Biomorphoclimatics Domains, Morphopedologic Facies and Soil Landscapes. The study allowed to check that the intense pressure of the rural population on the natural environment and resources is causing an intense degradation of the landscape and of soils, in most of the cases showing levels of irreversibility. Desertification processes are present in many sectors.