VARIATION ON NATIVE VEGETATION COVER IN SAO PAULO: AN OVERVIEW OF CURRENT KNOWLEDGE

Studies in several countries have shown the occurrence of forest transition, when forest cover increase overcomes the loss by deforestation. In Brazil, although deforestation is still higher than afforestation, this relationship may be inverse in some regions. Recent assessments suggest the tendency of the state of Sao Paulo towards forest transition. Aiming to analyze forest transition evidence and facilitate the use of existing information, we review data on native vegetation cover variation in Sao Paulo from four data sources (Instituto Florestal, SOS MataAtlantica/INPE, IBGE and CATI/IEA). Our results indicate that discrepancies among these assessments may be accounted by differences in methodologies and objectives. We highlight their common grounds and discuss possibilities to harmonize their information.36469570