Land-use intensity and landscape fragmentation, estimated by digital processing of remotely-sensed images, were related to chemical and physical parameters of water, measured in 3 points of the Ponte de Terra stream (9.8 km² of basin area), located in Brasilia, Brazil. The water quality parameters studied were the colour, turbidity, conductivity, concentration of ammonia, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and the water quality index (IQA). The stationarity of the time series of the parameters was also studied in the period between 1992 and 2005, when the basin experienced a significant occupation process. Land-use intensity (LUIm) and landscape fragmentation (Fp) indicators were developed and calculated for the basin using the proportions of different use intensity classes, and the spectral entropy of the satellite images, respectively. Despite the fact that the land-use and landscape fragmentation increased significantly in the studied period, only the COD parameter (mean of the 3 points) increased significantly. As the riparian zone remained relatively undisturbed in the period, it is possible that it buffered eventual impacts on the water quality of basin.
land use dynamics; remote sensing; impact; hydrology
