Inventory and quantitative assessment of geosites: application to the geological heritage of the Municipality of Caçapava do Sul (RS, Brazil)

Abstract

Bertioga is located on the coast of São Paulo State and is well known for outstanding geodiversity. This work aims to discuss the methodological approach used for the inventory and for the quantitative assessment of the Bertioga’s geological heritage. The selection of the sites the inventory was carried out based on: (i) literature review; (ii) interviews with researchers who conduct geoscience research in the region; (iii) analysis of geological and structural maps and satellite images, for identified potential areas; (iv) field work; and (v) selection and description of the sites. The inventory include eight geosites, three geodiversity sites for educational use and one for touristic use, which are representative of the geological history of the municipality. The quantification of geological heritage was performed based on existing methods and the relevance of the sites was obtained and is intended to guide the choice of future geoconservation strategies. In accordance with the results, only the geosite River Capture of Guaratuba River obtained the same ranking in different methods. Based on the results, we compared the ranking obtained between the methods for available which parameters responsible for the different results. There are thirteen environmental protection areas within the municipality’s limits, the priority is conservation of biodiversity, and actually, there is no proposal for the conservation of the geodiversity. Through the results of evaluation of degradation risk, we conclude although some sites are within the protected areas, some have moderate risk of degradation and need public policies for their management.