Influence of drought and anthropogenic pressures on land use and land cover change in the brazilian semiarid region

Changes in land use and land cover in the Brazilian semiarid region have intensified, due to climate change and anthropic activities, amplifying land degradation and the desertification process. In this scenario, the objective of this study is to evaluate the spatio-temporality of the conditions of loss and gain of land use and land cover in the Brazilian semiarid region, with an emphasis on Caatinga and water resources. From the satellite environmental monitoring of the municipality Boqueirão, Paraíba, Brazil, digital cloud processing was performed via Google Earth Engine (GEE) based on Landsat geospatial data, between the years 2012 and 2021. The biophysical parameters, surface albedo, vegetation indices, and thematic maps of land use and occupation were used in the study. The natural vegetation and water bodies decreased while the areas of exposed land and pasture increased significantly. The albedo and vegetation indices indicated areas with a high water deficit in the Caatinga. Highlighted the absence of vegetation resilience, with a reduction of Caatinga (9.33%) and low water availability (2.24%) in the study area. •Intensification of changes in land use and land cover in the Brazilian semiarid region.•Expansion of degradation processes due to severe drought and anthropic activities.•The inter-group average linkage method is recommended for joint analysis of biophysical indices.•The ecosystem imbalance of the Caatinga threatens the sustainable subsistence of the Brazilian semiarid region.•Rainfall is a dominant and controlling factor of the resilience of the Caatinga vegetation.