Geoenvironmental units at the Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park, in the north coast of the Rio de Janeiro state

Abstract

In order to minimize human interventions in restinga ecosystems, on April 29, 1998, the National Park (PARNA) Restinga de Jurubatiba was established. It is located along the coast in part of the municipalities of Macaé and Quissamã, and along the whole coastal strip of the municipality of Carapebus, in the Rio de Janeiro State. In this scenario, studying landscapes based on a systemic and geoecological approach proves to be an important analytical tool, supporting land-use planning and environmental planning studies. The present work aims to define and characterize geoenvironmental units at PARNA Restinga de Jurubatiba and their terrestrial buffer zone. The development steps considered a physical and anthropic database comprising Geological Formations, Geomorphological Compartments, Soil Classes, Rainfall and Land Use and Cover. When correlated, they enabled the delimitation of the following geoenvironmental units: High hills, Dissected highlands, Low hills, Dissected low hills, Lacustrine plain, Fluvial-lacustrine plain, Marine plain, Fluvio-marine plain, Lagoon complex parallel to the coast, Flood area and Beach. Also, as a way of characterizing the landscape, geoecological functions of geoenvironmental units were defined as areas emitting, transmitting and receiving material and energy. Considering the systemic function, the geoecological analysis approach employed delimited geoenvironmental units that reflect landscape evolution, and this database may be applied in territory management at the conservation unit.