BIBLIOS

Document type
Book chapters


Title
O Homem e os ecossistemas costeiros: Análise de impactos cumulativos em pequenos estuários no sudoeste e sul de Portugal

Participants in the publication
Cardoso, I. (Author)
MARE
Cancela da Fonseca, L. (Author)
MARE
Cabral, H.N. (Author)
CTA - Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias da Água, Universidade do Algarve
MARE

Summary
Coastal environments, such as estuaries, are the prime examples of how the presence and influence of man is already, in many ecosystems, part of the dynamics of the natural system. Historically, man has been changing the landscape, using the ecosystem services that coastal systems offer and in many cases it is no longer possible or desirable to exclude him from the landscape. In small estuaries, changes in use and / or impact intensification can have devastating effects of sound alteration of the system and even its functional disappearance. These estuaries, inserted in the context of more or less humanised watersheds, are subject to impacts of different scales and magnitudes, so for the purposes of management and analysis of their functional permanence, probably the best option is an ecosystem approach that goes beyond the size of the small estuary. The challenge will then be the choice of impact descriptors that will dictate the vulnerability of each system. In this work, an adaptation of a vulnerability analysis made to small estuaries of the Portuguese coast was used, which not only quantified it, but also opened the way for the management of these ecosystems. It was concluded that the understanding of the multiple pressures that lead to the degradation of ecosystems is essential for the definition of lines of intervention and protection. The scarce knowledge about small estuaries should not be a limitation to management, but rather a warning sign of their potential degradation and risk of functional disappearance.

Editor(s)
Davis Pereira de Paula; J. Alveirinho Dias; L. Cancela da Fonseca; Maria Antonieta C. Rodrigues; Miguel da Guia Albuquerque; Monique Palma; Silvia Dias Pereira


Institution
Faculdade de Geologia; UERJ - Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

Where published
Dialogos em torno da linha de costa: O oceano que nos une / Tomo IX da RedeBRASPOR

Publication Identifiers
ISBN - 9786588808023

Publisher
UERJ



Keywords
Ecosystem approach Anthropogenic impact Vulnerability Small estuaries

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