poster - International Conference of Agricultural Engineering

FIGURE 3: A – General view of the gypsum mine; B – area of the mine reject.
The digital map of the land degradation levels for the municipalities of Barbalha and Crato in
the State of Ceará, related to the years 1987, 2003 and 2008 (Fig. 4) clearly shows the risks
to the process of desertification, with particular attention for the areas of the Araripe National
Forest (FLONA) that even with low levels of degradation requires vigilance not to progress to
more serious levels. In the municipality of Barbalha for the period of 1987/2008 the increase
for the level serious of land degradation was 8.69%, and for the very serious corresponded to
9.55%. In the municipality of Crato for the same period, the level serious of land degradation
represented 16.50% and for the very serious level of land degradation corresponded to
19.66%, representing a significant advance the process of land degradation in these
municipalities.
FIGURE 4: Digital maps of the levels of land degradation for the municipalities of: A)
Barbalha B) Crato
In the municipality of Barbalha, for example, the levels severe and moderately severe of land
degradation are relating to clay extraction area. Fig. 5.A shows the appearance of these
levels of land degradation along the highway CE-180. These levels also occur at the
entrance to the Park Arajara in the municipality of Barbalha (Fig. 5. B and C), where is the
largest source of fresh water in sandstone formation, with a flow rate of 240,000 l/h.
The occurrence of the level serious of land degradation was observed at various places in
the municipality of Crato, as near the urban area and the route to Arajara, in the village Ponta
da Serra, where the slope of the mountain was cleared for pasture, and today has a high
population density and presence of some quarries.