Avaliação do patrimônio geomorfológico do spit de Galinhos-RN

Abstract

In the last decades, studies focused on the Geodiversity theme is gaining prominence in the areas of Earth Sciences, against, mainly, the growing concern about the conservation of abiotic elements. Soil, climate and relief are some of the factors that always conditioned the way humans explore the earth’s surface. It was by considering the context of natural heritage exploration (abiotic and biotic), and specifically the geomorphological heritage, that this research was developed, whose aim was the evaluation of Galinhos-RN spit’s map. The landscape, in which the work field is inserted, has a diversity of natural elements, able to promote tourism development, being one of the most important activities in the area. The methodology used in this research allowed the qualitative and quantitative assessment of the geomorphological heritage of the area, through the usage of characterization form of geodiversity elements followed by assigning values to the following indicators: Scientific Value, Geoturistic Usage Value, Educational Usage Value and Susceptibility Degree. Thus, six sites of abiotic interests that represent the Galinhos spit’s geodiversity: geomorphosites Dune of André, Dunes of Capim, Eolianite of Dunes of Capim, Galinhos Beach, Farol Beach, and Galinhos Beach’s Reefs. In the area’s geodiversity assessing, some threats were identified, which may cause the decharacterization of some of its natural landscape. Seen in these terms, some geoconservation measures were suggested as a way to minimize the negative impact of anthropic interference in the area.