The coastal regions of Brazil have lost most of their distinct characteristics due to an intense, diverse, and long history of land use. The current scenario is the result of successive changes which have taken place since the colonization of Brazil. These changes should be taken into account in environmental planning since the decisions about the future depend on the understanding of past changes. In this regard, the aim of this study was to identify and quantify the spatio-temporal changes in land use in a coastal region, using principles of landscape ecology and scenario construction. The case study was the São Sebastião Island, divided into 61 watersheds, off the northern coast of São Paulo State (Brazil). The study involved the development and application of a methodology to interpret the historical dynamics of the island. The driving forces were identified and indexes of change were calculated to define the phases of occupation of the island. Five phases of occupation of the coastal landscape were mapped: preservation, conservation, regeneration, exploitation and urbanization. These phases represent a pattern of internal heterogeneity, sometimes positive (environmental conservation), and sometimes negative (environmental degradation).58SPEC. ISSUE 33747França, A.A., (1954) Ilha De São Sebastião: Estudo De Geografia Humana, , São Paulo: USPFujihara, M., Kikuchi, T., Changes in the landscape structure of the Nagara Watershed, central Japan (2005) Landscape and Urban Planning, 70, pp. 271-281Gibson, C.C., Ostrom, E., Anh, T.H., The concept of scale and the human dimension of global change: A survey (2000) Ecological Economics, 32, pp. 217-239Pedreira, B.C.C.G., Santos, R.F., Sensores emotos, escalas geográficas e análises espaciais orientados a planejamentos ambientais em áreas florestais (2003) Revista Do Instituto Florestal, São Paulo, 15 (2), pp. 81-96de Ilhabela, P.M., (2005) Plano Gestor De Turismo - Estância Balneária IlhabelaSantos, M.A., Santos, R.F., (2008) Construção De Cenários Por Análises Temporais E Métricas Espaciais, , Revista do Instituto FlorestalSantos, R.F., (2004) Planejamento Ambiental - Teoria E Prática, , São Paulo: Oficina de Texto(2008) Relatório Estadual De Acompanhamento Dos Objetivos De Desenvolvimento Do Milênio - 2008, , SEADE - FUNDAÇÃO SISTEMA ESTADUAL DE ANÁLISE DE DADOS. São Paulo: Imprensa Oficial do Estado de São PauloStefanov, W.L., Ramsey, M.S., Christensen, P.R., Monitoring urban land cover change: An expert system approach to land cover classification of semiarid to arid urban centers (2001) Remote Sensing of Environment, 77, pp. 173-185Turner, M.G., Gardner, R.H., Oneill, R.V., (2001) Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice: Pattern and Process, p. 401. , New York: Springer-VerlagWeng, Y.C., Spatiotemporal changes of landscape pattern in response to urbanization (2007) Landscape and Urban Planning, 81, pp. 341-353Wilson, J.S., Clay, M., Martin, E., Stuckey, D., Vedder-Risch, K., Evaluating environmental influences of zoning in urban ecosystems with remote sensing (2003) Remote Sensing of Environment, 86, pp. 303-321Wu, J., Hobbs, R.J., (2007) Key Topics in Landscape Ecology, , Cambridge University Press. United Kingdo
