Meio Ambiente (Brasil)
Open Access Journal
QUALIS-CAPES
B1
2021-2024
quadriênio
Open Access Journal
B1
2021-2024
quadriênio
Planejamento e Aplicações ao Meio Ambiente | Vol. 8 Issue 2 (2026)
Mestrado Acadêmico em Ciências Ambientais pela Universidade de Taubaté (UNITAU)
Biólogo: CRBio -01 nº 138575/01-D
Engenheiro Ambiental e Geógrafo: CREA-SP nº 5071275573
Técnico em Geologia: CRT-SP nº 30359556892
Guia de Turismo:Regional CADASTUR nº 25.374910.07-5
Published in June 03, 2026
This study was conducted in the four Immediate Geographic Regions (RGIs) of São José dos Campos, Taubaté-Pindamonhangaba, Guaratinguetá and Cruzeiro, as determined by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), with the objective of locating and quantifying springs contained in Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs) with altitudes above 1,800 meters, according to the parameters established in Law 12.651/2012 (Forest Code), and highlighting which municipalities present APPs and the number of springs within them. The identification of topographic maps at a 1:50,000 scale from IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) using geotechnology revealed that the four Regional Geographic Offices (RGIs) comprised 15 municipalities with 736 springs distributed across 141 continuous polygons, covering 177.395 km² of land. Of the four RGIs, the Cruzeiro RGI had the highest number of springs within Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs) in its constituent municipalities. The municipality of Guaratinguetá also presented the highest number of springs within its APPs. The municipalities of São Bento do Sapucaí (Taubaté-Pindamonhangaba RGI) and Bananal (Cruzeiro RGI) did not have any springs within the topographic maps where their APPs were mapped. This study aims to provide on-site verification of the location of springs in each of the 15 municipalities, so that their current state can be better understood and recovery actions by the municipal government can be implemented, ensuring the continued quality of water sources used by wildlife and human settlements.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 João Marcos Tourinho
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7293-9445