Many environmental problems in the watershed of the Santana River are caused by anthropogenic influence and the impact of economic activities. To attenuate these conflicts and to ensure the conservation and sustainability of this regionally extremely important area, the environment must be better understood. The aim of this study was an environmental stratification of the catchment of the River Rio Santana, in the South of Bahia, Brazil, based on the analysis of inter-relations between landscape components. Vegetation, geology and topography were the main criteria to distinguish the environmental units, due to their major influence on soil genesis. Six units with distinct characteristics were identified: Quaternary coastal plain, Quaternary floodplain, Sedimentary coastal plateau, "Sea of hills", Crystalline depression and Forested hills. Furthermore, the main soil classes were characterized by physical, chemical and mineralogical analyses. The lithological diversity in the catchment has a major influence on the soil properties and led to a wide diversity of soil types. The main soil classes found in the area are: Latosols, Argisols, Cambisols, Luvisols, Neosols and Gleisols.
Atlantic Forest; GIS; soil
