Banca de DEFESA: DENISE SANTOS SALDANHA

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : DENISE SANTOS SALDANHA
DATE: 29/08/2024
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: Banca Virtual - meet.google.com/ixs-rwsu-hdj
TITLE:

COASTAL WETLANDS AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: ASSESSMENT OF COASTAL MACROHABITATS OF THE BRAZILIAN SEMI-ARID

KEY WORDS:

Semi-arid coast; coastal wetlands macrohabitats; ecosystem services; trade-offs.

PAGES: 218
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Geografia
SUMMARY:

 

Wetlands, found in all parts of the globe, are transitional macrohabitats between aquatic and terrestrial environments, subject to flooding by fresh, brackish, or saline water, of natural or artificial origin, permanent or temporary. On the northern coast of Rio Grande do Norte, wetlands have become one of the environments most exposed to human driving forces, often due to their local natural characteristics, such as morphodynamics influenced by factors like daily tidal action, topographic elevation below 1.0 meter, and sedimentary constitution. The natural macrohabitats of wetlands, such as tidal channels, mangroves, apicums, lagoons, and ponds, have been compromised, especially due to the expansion of economic activities. These, classified as artificial macrohabitats, cause direct and indirect interference in the provision of ecosystem services. In this context, research that evaluates the causes and effects that compromise the supply and change of services emerges as crucial diagnostic and prognostic tools for environmental and regulatory agencies, besides contributing scientifically to discussions among researchers on the topic. Therefore, considering the environmental, economic and social importance of these wetlands, this thesis aims to evaluate the coastal macrohabitats in the lower course of the Piranhas-Açu River (RN/NE), based on the relationship between the provision of ecosystem services offered by natural and artificial macrohabitats, as well as the influence of this relationship on the area's different trade-offs. To achieve this objective, the methodological procedures consisted of the following steps: 1) literature review; 2) use of geotechnologies for the characterization and spatialization of coastal macrohabitats; 3) application of multivariate statistics for soil analysis of different natural macrohabitats; 4) classification of ecosystem services through the theoretical-methodological support of the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES); and 5) construction of the DPSIR (Driver–Pressure–State–Impact–Response) matrix to identify the cause and effect indicators that influence the loss or change of services (trade-offs). In the lower course of the Piranhas-Açu River, six macrohabitats were identified: tidal channels, mangroves, apicum, lagoons, salt pans and shrimp farming. These are distributed heterogeneously, with sedimentological variability due to their location in periodically flooded zones, influenced by both marine and fluvial dynamics. The main results indicated an increase in solar salt pans (8,185.4 ha) and shrimp farming (2,100 ha) over the 53 years analyzed. Conversely, apicum showed a reduction of 3,055.95 ha and mangroves of 439 ha, demonstrating a growing insertion of artificial macrohabitats over these natural wetlands' macrohabitats. The identification of services revealed that these environments have a high supply capacity, especially in the provisioning categories, highlighting the collection of fish and crustaceans, and regulation/ maintenance, with the regulation of physical, chemical, and biological conditions. From the analysis of the DPSIR chain indicators, it was possible to list 11 trade-offs, three in the provisioning section and eight in the regulation/maintenance section, highlighting the need to measure the different uses and occupations in the landscape. To mitigate these effects, three responses were proposed: creation of priority areas for conservation; development of a Degraded Areas Recovery Plan (PRAD); and environmental monitoring. These measures aim to solve the impacts and promote sustainable use in the face of human dependence on ecosystem services, culminating in the construction of a conceptual model for the recovery of degraded natural macrohabitats and, consequently, the increase of ecosystem services. It is hoped that the results achieved will contribute to the local diagnosis and prognosis, encourage continuous environmental education actions, as well as water, soil, and salinity monitoring and inspection.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 2966354 - DIOGENES FELIX DA SILVA COSTA
Interno - 1803535 - ADRIANO LIMA TROLEIS
Interno - 1172876 - SILVIO BRAZ DE SOUSA
Externo à Instituição - PAULO VICTOR DO NASCIMENTO ARAÚJO - IFRN
Externo à Instituição - SUELI ANGELO FURLAN - USP