The study of biophysical parameters such as NDVI, albedo and surface temperature has been reported as important for the understanding of land degradation changes of ecosystems. Degradation in ecosystems is related to the inadequate use of the environmental resources including deforestation, mining, inadequate agriculture, overgrazing, among others, that cause imbalance of ecological interactions. For multitemporal evaluation of changes related to the degradation of the 'caatinga' ecosystem three parameters were used with TM images: NDVI, albedo and surface temperature, in two different dates, 1985 and 2001 (dry season). This study was applied in the Brígida river basin where there is a great intensification in the exploration of the natural resources. The results show an increase in the surface temperature, decrease of NDVI and little variation in the surface albedo, between the two dates. These results also show an increase in the degradation of the natural resources in the basin of the Brígida river.
surface temperature; surface albedo; vegetation index; degradation of ecosystems; data modelling
