Assessment of impacts on ecosystem services provided by geodiversity in highly urbanised areas: A case study of the Taubaté Basin, Brazil

Abstract

This work presents a method to identify, to evaluate and to quantify the losses of the offer of ecosystem services provided by geodiversity, using as a case study the Taubaté Basin region, a highly urbanized portion of southeastern São Paulo State, Brazil. Our method considers not only the qualitative analysis of the abiotic aspects, but also the historical and cultural context, in which the geodiversity elements are crucial for local economy development. The method is based on: i) Qualitative evaluation and definition of six Essential Geodiversity Variables (EGVs), used as the basis for the identification of 53 ecosystem services distributed into four functions: regulating, supporting, provisioning, and cultural; ii) Definition of land use categories based on two land use maps elaborated in order to compare the transformation occurred in the region between 1986 and 2016; iii) Quantification and evaluation of the impacts on the offer of ecosystem services caused by land use transformations occurred in region in a 30-year gap. The results showed that anthropogenic action is the main factor that alter the availability of local services, with emphasis on the supply of water, soils and mineral resources, and its potentially influence on the quality of life of certain species. We reinforce the view that public policies on land management and planning should consider the ecosystem assessment, as it provides evidence to propose actions to mitigate impacts and for environmental compensation, favoring the sustainable use of resources by society.

Spatial–Temporal Interaction Relationship between Ecosystem Services and Urbanization of Urban Agglomerations in the Transitional Zone of Three Natural Regions

“…The results showed that anthropogenic action is the main factor that alters the availability of local services, with emphasis on the supply of water, soils, and mineral resources, and it potentially influences the quality of life of certain species. Akanksha Balha [34], predicting the impact of urbanization on water resources in the megacity of Delhi, proposed a road map to assess future water availability in various megacities across the globe. Robert Hoyer's [35] assessment of freshwater ecosystem services in the Tualatin and Yamhill basins under climate change and urbanization showed that the estimated relative changes in ES provision under different climate and urbanization scenarios are valuable for land management decisions.…”

Quantitative-Qualitative Method for Quick Assessment of Geodiversity

“…These elements describe the form and quality of the area, and they are common throughout the Earth, while other elements of main values (volcanos, caves, weathering mass, and structural elements) are connected to places with conditions that contribute to evolution of these processes. Additionally, soils were not mentioned above, as this element is considered to fall within the sphere of biological activity and will be studied in future research [3,10,[30][31][32][33][34][35]. Notably, soils represent the interface between abiotic and biotic nature and processes, with soil formation and type impacting on the geocultural aspects of societal development, such as evolution of agricultural practices.…”

“…The assessment of geodiversity is developing as a research field whereby studying abiotic nature can be used an analogue for biodiversity as the living part of the environment. Some researchers seek the best solution to objectively determine the geodiversity of a territory [1][2][3]. Researchers such as Gray, Kozłovskyi, Serrano and others [4][5][6] have established a core definition of geodiversity as the sum of the Earth's history, tectonics, minerals, rocks, sediments, fossils, landforms, geomorphological processes and soils, geological structures, surface water, groundwater, mineral and therapeutic waters, and thermal waters.…”

Territories of Contention: The Importance of Project Location in Mining-Related Disputes in Finland from the Geosystem Services Perspective

“…These were described in detail by [36]. The geosystem service framework has been applied to the sustainable management of coastal natural resources [41], geodiversity and water resources evaluation [42], environmental impact assessment regarding geodiversity [43], evaluation of geodiversity's cultural services [44], mapping of geosystem services in mountains [45], and tourism studies [46]. Here, we apply the geosystem service concept and framework to examine the spatial reasoning behind MMEDs.…”