Assessment of vegetation recomposition methods in a tropical forest using satellite images

In Brazil, as in the world, the mining sector is expanding steadily. Currently, the sector accounts for 11.5% of Brazil’s GDP, and the country is the world’s fifth-largest producer of mining products. The environmental impacts of mining and other activities that compete for land use need to be evaluated. The objective of this work was to assess vegetation recomposition in an area where bauxite extraction occurred, using analysis of a vegetation index calculated from satellite images. The method was applied at a bauxite mine in Paragominas, Pará, Brazil. The evaluations covered the steps of opening the area, mining operations, and replanting, considering three types of replanting: natural regeneration, traditional planting, and nucleation, for the period between 2013 and 2019, using 2006 as the base situation for the secondary forest. The results showed that the replanting method directly influences the vegetation index according to satellite images. Several factors affected the values obtained, such as operational factors and topsoil used. The natural regeneration method was found to produce the best results.