Banca de DEFESA: FRANCISCO HERMÍNIO RAMALHO DE ARAÚJO

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : FRANCISCO HERMÍNIO RAMALHO DE ARAÚJO
DATE: 06/07/2026
TIME: 08:00
LOCAL: videoconferência
TITLE:

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES OF GEODIVERSITY IN EXCEPTIONAL LANDSCAPES OF THE BRAZILIAN SEMI-ARID REGION

KEY WORDS:

Benefits; Abiotic environment; Evaluation; Geoconservation.

PAGES: 277
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Geografia
SUMMARY:

The interactions between abiotic and biotic elements within an ecosystem provide benefits to society, known as ecosystem services (ES). Geodiversity, defined as the variety of abiotic elements, supports and provides benefits to humans through the provision of ecosystem services, which can occur in different landscapes. In the context of the Brazilian semi-arid region, there are landscapes with unique physical and natural characteristics that differ from the dominant landscape and are referred to as exceptional landscapes. This study aims to analyze and classify the ES provided by geodiversity in these landscapes and compare the results with the ecosystem services offered in the surrounding areas. The spatial-empirical framework consists of four sites considered to be exceptional landscapes: the Araripe, Martins-Portalegre, João do Vale, and Santana plateaus. To this end, a geomorphological mapping exercise was conducted to delineate the relief compartments. In the case of Chapada do Araripe, geological and geomorphological data were cross-referenced with climate data, resulting in the creation of Homogeneous Units of Geodiversity (HUG). We chose to use an identification form for abiotic ecosystem services, adapted from Araújo, Diniz, and Souza (2024), which groups the benefits into four categories: regulating, provisioning, cultural, and supporting. The degree of relevance was also assessed using adjustments to the method proposed by Araújo, Diniz, and Souza (2024), based on the work of Burkhard (2017). With these adjustments, the proposed new method assigns 1.0 point for each direct benefit and 0.75 point for each indirect benefit, making it possible to assess the degree of importance by category of ES and overall. The results indicate that geodiversity supports various types of ecosystem services, which are distributed across the relief compartments of the studied areas. It was observed that units located in elevated areas, with sedimentary lithology and higher humidity, provide greater benefits. These units received the highest scores in the assessment of relevance and are precisely located within the exceptional landscapes of their respective areas. The study revealed that the exceptional characteristics of outstanding landscapes – shaped by the interaction between lithology, topography, and climate – are key to providing fundamental benefits to society and supporting biodiversity. Identifying and assessing these services is essential for developing geoconservation strategies in these areas.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 2506087 - MARCO TULIO MENDONCA DINIZ
Externo ao Programa - 1513243 - MARCOS ANTONIO LEITE DO NASCIMENTO - UFRNExterna ao Programa - 1230818 - THIARA OLIVEIRA RABELO - UFRNExterna à Instituição - ANA CAROLINE DAMASCENO SOUZA DE SÁ - UFPE
Externa à Instituição - MARIA DA GLÓRIA MOTTA GARCIA - USP