Abstract
The halophilous-psamophilous-herbaceous vegetation of the “Restinga” (coastal sand-dune habitats) beach habitats (BHHPH) has high importance in the dynamics of beach habitats, as important mechanical barrier preventing their erosion, especially considering the predicted changes in coastal sea levels due to global climate change. We analysed 30 coastal beach habitats along 200 km of the coast of Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil evaluating the remaining coverture by the BHHPH vegetation (in Km2) and fragmentation due to anthropogenic factors destroying this vegetation along the last four decades. Using satellite images, we demarcated and measured (in m², converted to km²) the limits of the georeferenced polygons representing remaining areas of BHHPH vegetation in each area, refined in the field and calculated the set of remaining polygons for all areas. For the estimates of the proportion of area, relative to 1985, the calculations utilized data sourced from MapBiomas (2023). Our data show an intensive and extensive removal of BHHPH vegetation in areas of all municipalities along coast with coverage currently varying from 0.002552 to 0.808721 km2, with sum of total area of remnants of only 2.94421 km2. The ongoing process of strongly BHHPH loss increases the potential for destabilization of sandy beaches and dunes along coast. Instead of removal of the beach vegetation, it is crucial to restore BHHPH habitats as a nature-based solution to cope with to the predicted trends in time models coast sea level elevation along coastal in the near future. Governments should be carefully restoring and protecting this strategic vegetation.
Presenters
Carlos Frederico Duarte RochaProfessor, Department of Ecology, Institute of Biology, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Assessing Impacts in Diverse Ecosystems
KEYWORDS
Herbaceous beach habitat vegetation conservation, Beach vegetation preventing beach erosion
