The Geodiversity of The Municipality of Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil: Values and Threats

Abstract

Due to a unique scenic landscape, the municipality of Florianópolis attracts thousands of tourists and an increasing number of new residents. However, even with 45% of the territory designated as Permanent Preservation Area, the diversity of ecosystems and natural heritage is being degraded due to urban-tourist development, which has led to the loss of geodiversity, still under- recognized by the society. Geodiversity refers to the variety of geological and geomorphological elements of a territory, which are the product and record of Earth's evolution. In order to justify the need for its management, this paper aimed to identify the geodiversity of Florianópolis, together with its values and threats, through a bibliographical review and field work. The geodiversity of the municipality is defined by two main geological-geomorphological units/domains: the crystalline basement (granite rocks intruded by diabase dikes) and the coastal plains domain (a recent dynamic systems developed in continental and transitional depositional systems). As values identified were the economic, cultural, functional, educational and scientific. The threats consist of coastal erosion, construction of landfills for urban infrastructure, soil contamination and erosion on trails. Based on the balance between the values and threats on the geodiversity of Florianópolis and considering a growing anthropic pressure upon this territory, there is the need for an urgent implementation of geoconservation strategies and environmental management by the municipality.