**1. Introduction**

Construction of large hydroelectric dams can induce major habitat loss and degradation in the surrounding areas [1,2]. However, deactivated hydropower landscapes have been used worldwide as an area for tourism development, as well as natural conservation units to compensate the lost

ecosystems during the construction of hydroelectric reservoirs since the late 19th century [3]. In recent decades, numerous hydropower landscapes around the world became sites for ecosystem conservation, tourism and are defined as protected areas (PAs). Examples for such models for ecosystem conservation can be found in Brazil [4], Canada [5], Costa Rica [6], and many more.

Brazil has the largest PA system in the world (approximately 220 million ha), even though there has been a reduction in the area of PAs since the late 2000s [7]. The Federal Constitution of Brazil expresses in its article 225 the legal and constitutional duty of transmitting the environmental patrimony in the best of conditions to the future and current generations. Likewise, Law 12,651/2012—the Brazilian Forest Code, in its article 1º-A, item I, confirms Brazil's sovereign compromise with the preservation of its forests and other forms of native vegetation, as well as biodiversity, soil, water resources, and integrity of the climatic system. Based on this fact, it is only with preservation practices and environmental control that we will reach a balance, aiming at the reduction of the direct or indirect degradations caused by anthropogenic activities.

The efficient environmental managemen<sup>t</sup> of a territory largely depends on previous surveys and systematic studies on the main elements and physical conditions. The inappropriate occupation of space and improper use of natural resources can lead to pressure on environmental systems. Among so many laws that guide and foster the environment, we can highlight Law 9985/2000 which institutes the National System of Nature Conservation Units (SNUC). This law establishes the criteria and norms for the creation, implementation, and managemen<sup>t</sup> of conservation units. From this, we infer that the conservation units (CUs) and their buffer zone are an essential instrument for the protection of biodiversity, natural processes, and environments involved.

Remote sensing, spaceborne data in particular, has been widely used for the dynamic monitoring of land use changes, biodiversity evolution, managemen<sup>t</sup> of water resources, and the changes on the earth surface in general [8]. Various algorithms for processing remotely sensed data remove the barriers of the human visual system, facilitating effective interpretation of information contained in satellite imagery [9]. In this study, we used satellite data for detecting the land cover changes occurred in a state park located in southern Brazil and its surrounding areas within a 10 km buffer for the period between 1990 and 2016. This study period will allow us to compare the land cover changes occurred before and after the establishment of the park for natural preservation beside a hydroelectric dam in the region. The study area provides an excellent opportunity to understand how the ecosystem loss associated with dam construction can be compensated after the functioning or deactivation of the power plant. We mapped the regeneration of the natural species inside the park and how the establishment of the conservation area reduced the contamination of exotic species into the park while the surrounding areas of the park were cultivated with *Pinus* sp. for industrial raw materials.

#### **2. Characterization of the Study Area**

The study site is the Rio Canoas State Park and its surrounding areas, located in the municipality of Campos Novos, in the state Brazilian of Santa Catarina (Figure 1). The Rio Canoas State Park (RCSP) has an area of 1133 hectares and is situated within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Limit. Its surrounding area, within a buffer zone of 10 km around the park, was also analyzed and encompasses a small portion of the municipalities of Abdon Batista, Anita Garibaldi, and Celso Ramos. The area of the RCSP was acquired by the company Campos Novos Energia S.A–ENERCAN and donated to the state of Santa Catarina to serve as compensation for the environmental loss during the construction of the Campos Novos Hydroelectric Power Plant and the dam.

**Figure 1.** (**a**) Location of the study area in Brazil; (**b**) Location of Rio Canoas State Park (RCSP) within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Limit.

The study area is characterized by flood basalt, presenting effusive acid rocks on the superior portion and a range of igneous and metamorphic rocks, and the sediments were recently found on the coast [10]. The RCSP is located at the Araucaria Plateau, in the center-west portion of the state. The geomorphology of the study area is, in general, situated on the Geomorphological Unit Rio Iguaçu/Rio Uruguai, characterized by the intense dissection of the plateau along with the main drainage, the Rio Canoas, with large slopes between valleys.

According to the data obtained from the City Hall of Campos Novos, the municipality is known as the breadbasket of Santa Catarina state, with an economy based on the agriculture and is also

considered the largest producer of cereals in the state, with the prominent production of corn, soybean, wheat, and beans. The region also focuses on industries, such as cellulose and paper, metallurgy, furniture, and hydropower, which supplies 25% of the state´s consumption. It is worth noting that the raw materials (wood) for the paper and cellulose industries are provided by the pine forests in the surrounding areas of the park. The economy of nearby municipalities (Abdon Batista, Anita Garibaldi, and Celso Ramos) is also based on agriculture, especially corn, bean, soybean, and tobacco crops, and livestock. In Censo Ramos, the cultivation of sugarcane prevails.

According to the phytogeographic data provided by FATMA [11], the original vegetation of this region was represented, primarily, by a Mixed Ombrophilous Forest characterized by the expressive density and physiognomic uniformity of *Araucaria angustifolia* (Brazilian pine), with a sub-grove formed by an expressive number of three species belonging to the Lauraceae family.
