The geodiversity of Brazil: quantification, distribution, and implications for conservation areas

• Published in: Geoheritage Vol. 13; no. 3
• Main Authors: de Paula Silva, Juliana, Alves, Grace Bungenstab, Ross, Jurandyr Luciano Sanches, de Oliveira, Fábio Soares, do Nascimento, Marcos Antônio Leite, Felini, Mateus Grochoski, Manosso, Fernando César, Pereira, D. I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer 01-09-2021; Springer Berlin Heidelberg; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Biogeosciences; Ciências da Terra e do Ambiente; Ciências Naturais; Conservation areas; Conservation units; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Geodiversity indexes; Geoparks projects; Historical Geology; Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning; Lithology; Mineralogy; Nature conservation; Original Article; Paleontology; Physical Geography; Physical geography of Brazil; Research institutions; Science & Technology; Spatial analysis; Brazil; Geoparks projects; Physical geography of Brazil; Geodiversity indexes; Conservation units
• DOI: 10.1007/s12371-021-00598-0
• EISSN: 1867-2485
• ISSN: 1867-2477

Research related to geodiversity aim at valuing abiotic aspects as inseparable components of natural heritage and, thus, as well as biodiversity, must be understood and valued through the ordering of their use and geoconservation. Geodiversity studies are developed based on several approaches, from the broadest ones, which contemplate the measurement of abiotic elements fully, to those that assess geoheritage through geodiversity values. The present research follows the broader approach of evaluating and analysing the entire geodiversity, applying the measurement of abiotic elements without their valuation, and spatialising areas with a greater and lesser density of the selected elements related in this research lithology, relief, and soil. For this purpose, bases produced by systematic surveys of Brazilian research institutions were used. As a result, the mapping of the subindexes obtained pointing from the division into 5 classes, the areas which present greater and lesser diversity of each element, as well as the synthesis map for the indexes of geodiversity elements in Brazil, considering the three elements selected for this mapping. The analysis of the indexes’ spatialisation was carried out from a descriptive and genetic perspective, aiming to explain the causes of the distribution of the abiotic elements in the Brazilian territory, providing subindexes for studies in the scope of environmental services, nature, and territory conservation planning. A spatial analysis was also carried out between the Geodiversity Index Map and the Brazilian conservation units and the areas where geopark projects are being developed.