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Geodiversity, CoastalPlain, Maranhão Island
Geodiversitycorrespondstothevarietyofgeologicalenvironments, phenomenaandactive processes thatgeneratelandscapes, rocks, minerals, fossilsandothersurfacedepositsthatformthebasis for lifeon Earth.The integrationofbioticandabioticcomponentsis still underdeveloped, both in thescientificenvironmentand in the management leveloftheterritory.Thisismainlyduetothelackofattentiontotheabioticelements as finite natural resourcesduetotheirdeteriorationprocess in themediumorlong term. It is in theenvironmentalprotectionscenariothatwe show Geodiversity in coastalenvironments, which are fragileanddynamicareas, sincethey are in situationsoftransitionbetweenthecontinentandthesea. In thiscontext, thecoastalenvironmentofthesoutheastern sector oftheIslandof Maranhão, whichiscurrentlyconsideredoneoftheurbanexpansionareasoftheIsland, hasfewstudiesfocusedon its geo-environmental dynamics, whichiscomposedof a differentiated dynamics in relationtothe western coastoftheIslandof Maranhão.Thisisthereason for thisstudy, whichseekstoevaluatehowGeographycancontributetotheconservationofGeodiversity, basedontheevaluationofthepotentialoftheabioticresourcesofthesoutheasterncoastalenvironmentof Maranhão Island, in theStateof Maranhão, generatinginformationthatmaycontribute for furtherstudies in thisarea.Basedonthegeosystemic approach, theresultsofthisresearch are basedontheidentificationmadeofGeodiversityofthearea, characteristicsrelatedmainlytogeology, geomorphology, pedology, some ofthisinformationbeingidentified in this sector fromthisstudy. The understandingofthe local Geodiversity, from its characterizationandunderstandingofinteractionsand processes, allowedthedivisionofgeodiversitylandscapeunits, having as mainelementto its classificationGeomorphology, consideredanattributeofgreaterprominence in thearea in relationtotheotherresourcesabiotic. Basedontheseinferences, eight points ofinterestrelatedtoGeodiversity in thecoastalplániciewereinventoried. Usingqualitativeandquantitativetechniques, it waspossibletoidentifytheirpotentialvaluescategorized as tourist use value, scientific use value, conservationvalueandtheirrelevancebasedonthemethodologyof Pereira (2010).Thisinformationcontributesto a greaterdetailofthecharacteristicsofthearea, which still havefewstudiesfocusedonthis sector and as a basis for furtherstudiesandplanningand management actionsofthis sector thatis in theprocessofurbanexpansion.