Effects of the Forest Law in areas with different vegetation types in Chapada dos Veadeiros - Goiás

Abstract

Brazilian forestry legislation, the main legal instrument on the protection and restoration of natural vegetation, has undergone significant changes in recent decades. Such changes directly affect the country's biomes. In this context, the present work had as objective verify if, with the edition of the Forest Law of Goiás, nº 18,104/2013, there was a change in the composition of the vegetation cover in the region of Chapada dos Veadeiros - Goiás, in the period from 2008 to 2018, which corresponds five years before and after the enactment of the law. A quantitative methodology was adopted in which the hypothesis are tested based on the data collection, based on variables that have numerical measurement. An attempt was made to perform a statistical analysis to configure standards in order to prove or disprove hypothesis that the Forest Law affected the different plant typologies in the Chapada dos Veadeiros region. There was a tendency to reduce the areas of savanna and grassland formation in the studied region and significant increases in the areas covered by planted forests, pastures and agriculture. There were no statistically significant differences in areas with forest formation. These results indicate that the enactment of Law N^o 18,104/2013 may have favored changesin the areas covered by different plant types in the cover in the region of Chapada dos Veadeiros - Goiás, reducing areas of savanna and grassland formation and expanding areas covered by planted forests, pastures and agriculture.

Keywords:
Cerrado Biome; Deforestation; Vegetation types; Conservation units; Forest Law