Seasonal analysis of vegetation coverage in edge areas at remanescent urban forestry

Abstract

Historically the expansion of urban centers and the growth of industrial parks, as well as agricultural expansion and anthropogenic action have resulted in a significant forests degradation. The increase in environmental impacts resulting from rapid economic growth in large cities results in a discussion of the importance of maintaining green areas in urban centers, since they significantly influence people's quality of life. In this context, the objective of this work is to analyze the quality of the vegetation cover, at two different seasons during the year, on the edges of the Mata de Santa Genebra forest remnant, located in the Barão Geraldo district, northern region of the city of Campinas, in the state of São Paulo. Verifying if the leaf cover index (LAI), obtained from hemispheric photographs can be used as an effective indicator of environmental degradation in urban forest remnants.