Land Use and Land Cover Maps of Rio Grande do Sul and Amazonas are already available on the IBGE website, at a 1:250,000 scale. They result from the interpretation of satellite images, field work and reference documents, which enables a wide range of classification. The website also brings the Land Use Wall Map of Brazil, scale 1:5,000,000, whose predominantly agricultural characteristics provide a more comprehensive picture of the 1996 Census of Agriculture, making it possible for the user to compare typologies of use with more recent products.   

The maps can be accessed at:

ftp://geoftp.ibge.gov.br/mapas_tematicos/uso_da_terra/cartas_escala_250mil/estaduais/RS/ (Rio Grande do Sul)

ftp://geoftp.ibge.gov.br/mapas_tematicos/uso_da_terra/cartas_escala_250mil/estaduais/AM/ (Amazonas)

ftp://geoftp.ibge.gov.br/informacoes_ambientais/cobertura_e_uso_da_terra/uso_atual/mapas/brasil/uso_da_terra_1996.pdf (Brazil, in PDF)

ftp://geoftp.ibge.gov.br/mapas_tematicos/mapas_murais/shapes/uso_da_terra_1996/ (Brazil, in shape)

Map of Rio Grande do Sul, at a scale of 1: 250 000, is much more detailed than the previous one, at a scale of 1: 1 000 000

The new map was meant to load databanks and presents detailed information in shape format, including the most representative products of each mapping class. The classes were structured through a multilevel classification system, which emphasizes remote sensing as its primary source of information, complemented by field works, interviews, statistical data and the available literature.

In order to set out the mapping units, diversities within the units were considered homogeneous, which explains the adoption of land use patterns for representing the identified phenomena. The classification system used presupposes five major categories of Land Cover and Land Use: Non-agricultural Anthropic Areas, Agricultural Anthropic Areas, Natural Vegetation Areas, Water and Other Areas. The mapping units were identified in different classes under these categories and had their aspects and characteristics described in relation to the state.

Products resulting from the same study are already available on the IBGE website at scales of 1:1 000 000 and 1:100 000 in order to meet users’ different needs.

Map of Amazonas, 1: 250 000, results from 76 satellite images

The new Amazonas mapping, with a higher level of detail than the product released in last December (scale 1:1.800.000), also integrates the survey and classification process of the Brazilian Land Use. The map was drawn based on the interpretation of 76 images from LANDSAT–TM-5, between 2010-12, on questionnaire applications and on information such as vector data of special areas of mineral exploitation and other documents.

The images were registered and interpreted in a SPRING environment and adjusted to the cartographic basis available in the databank of environmental information from the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies – CREN. In order to classify data, the Land Use Classification System – SCUT - was used. The operational procedures underwent segmentation and classification supervised by means of an exhaustive matrix edition, supported by textual information and vector data.  

The results are displayed in a shape format.

Land Use Wall Map of Brazil, a wider picture of the Census of Agriculture, scale 1:5 000 000

The Land Use Map of Brazil, scale 1:5 000 000, was drawn based on information collected in the enumeration areas of the 1996 Census of Agriculture. The idea of formatting these data under the same classification given to the 2006 wall map emerged from the intention to compare the land use evolution of the agricultural establishments, in the period.

This product was developed by means of logic expressions. This methodological procedure allowed the classification of uses taking predominance as a reference, setting the standards of 50%, 50-25%, 25-10% and lower than 10% of use in agricultural establishments. The uses were organized in two categories: simple and compound (in this case, the uses in the enumeration areas comprise more than one class). The classes gathered under the 50% standard were subdivided in three strata (it is inferred that those with less than 10% of occupation in the establishments are preserved with their primary vegetal cover).

The results are available in shape and PDF formats.