The development of research involving the geodiversity concept has been growing in the last two decades. The quantification of spatial patterns of geodiversity seems to be one of the most promising lines of research related with natural diversity, since it explores the relations between abiotic elements. This last aspect can be crucial, not only for territorial management, but also for conservation initiatives associated with biodiversity. The main aim of this study was to develop a new GIS procedure, based on centroid analysis, to calculate a geodiversity index, using kernel density, and to test its application in two municipalities with different area surfaces and geological setting. The proposed method is an upgrade of those previously published based on a spatial grid system at a landscape scale. The results of this method show that it is possible to obtain a spatial geodiversity standard that reflects the spatial variation of natural abiotic elements on both territories and that lithology and geomorphology are the key drivers that control the geodiversity index. In addition, the testing procedures have demonstrated that this method can be applied to areas with any geological and geomorphological setting and at different scales and also to be a useful tool for land use planning.

Os observadores de aves tornaram-se o maior grupo de registro da vida silvestre do planeta e é a comunidade de contemplação da natureza que mais cresce no mundo. O turismo de observação de aves tem grande potencial de retorno financeiro para as comunidades receptivas criando incentivos para proteção ambiental de áreas naturais. Este trabalho tem como objetivo identificar a avifauna das trilhas ecológicas de Igatu, Chapada Diamantina e sua flora associada, para serem exploradas pelo turismo local. Foram realizadas três expedições ao local de estudo, com duração média de cinco dias cada. O registro da avifauna foi realizado com o auxílio do binóculo ou a olho nu a partir de caminhadas por três trilhas ecológicas durante todo o dia. Foram identificadas 51 espécies de aves, distribuídas em 22 famílias. As mais atrativas para o turismo de observação de aves foram: rabo-branco-canelado (Phaethornis pretrei), besourinho-de-bico-vermelho (Chlorostilbon lucidus), o endêmico beija-flor-de-gravata-vermelha (Augastes lumachella), sofrê (Icterus jamacaii) e pássaro-preto (Gnorimopsar chopii), maria-preta-de-garganta-vermelha (Knipolegus nigerrimus) e saí-azul (Dacnis cayana). As plantas que se destacaram foi o mulungu (Erythrina velutina) e o mucugê-brabo (Clusia nemorosa), com flores e frutos, respectivamente, atrativos às aves. As trilhas de Igatu apresentaram exuberantes representantes da avifauna, sendo excelentes atrativos para turistas interessados na contemplação das aves. A existência de uma variedade de recursos alimentares para as aves nas trilhas de Igatu maximiza a possibilidade do avistamento e identificação de diferentes espécies. O turismo de observação de aves planejado pode proporcionar um crescimento do ecoturismo em Igatu, trazendo mais recursos financeiros, aumentando o desenvolvimento sócio-econômico na região.

In analyzing the evolution of pedologic mapping perspectives in Brazil, it is noteworthy that they are based firmly on geology and focused on soil aptitude for agricultural use. Mapping detail was improved between the decades of 1950 and 1980. The mapping initially concentrated in the Northeast and Southeast regions, shifting its orientation in recent decades with the opening of the Brazilian agricultural frontiers. Remote sensing, geographical information systems, and informatics allowed increased map detail and promoted technological changes in map production. This revolution provided the development of digital soil mapping (DSM) as a set of methods and techniques to automate the soil surveys in Brazil. Despite the technological advances, only 1% of the Brazilian territory has soil maps on the scale of 1:25,000. In 1990 for economical, technological, and methodological reasons there was a decrease in both surveying and detailing processes. In a response to this reality Brazil has used new software and technologies, as well as the accumulated knowledge, to increase technological development of soil surveys. The integration of existing techniques and data favor the faster construction of more detailed and more interactive soil maps for a larger parcel of the country. This perspective, as the former one, will require some modifications to the soil mapping both in the methodology and also in the approach.

Este artigo apresenta diálogos intergeracionais escola - comunidade garimpeira, responsável pela modificação no padrão hídrico regional, para gerar informação de recuperação superficial e subterrânea das nascentes do Rio Paraguaçu, na Chapada Diamantina. A metodologia tem como pressupostos pilares da inter/transdisciplinaridade e da pedagogia Freiriana, observando artesanatos típicos que reproduzem cenários locais em escala reduzida, as casinhas de pedra. Tendo esta tradição como partida, foi construída maquete representativa das “frinchas” garimpeiras, ou fraturas abertas antropocênicas, utilizando a “rocha matriz” de Igatu, em co-produção e parceria com artesãos locais, enquanto dialogava-se sobre as águas atuais e seus padrões no passado. O resultado da pesquisa gerou modelo didático para ensino - aprendizagem sobre aquíferos, envolvendo a comunidade escolar com seus antepassados, antigos garimpeiros da região, aliando saberes e meio ambiente, e usando a história ambiental como chave para recuperação de água boa, significado da palavra Igatu.

Chapada Diamantina is located in the central portion of Bahia state in northeastern Brazil and is marked by mountainous relief with pronounced scarps, deep valleys, and high plateaus. Lithologically, this region is dominated by metasedimentary rocks formed over a period of 900 million years during the Proterozoic. Between 500 and 600 million years ago, the last major tectonic event raised the sedimentary package in a sequence of alternating synclinal and anticlinal folds that are cut by faults in several directions. This arrangement, combined with the current fluvial system, has resulted in a relief marked by flattop elevations that reach over 1,800 m in altitude. Two major geomorphological domains are observed at Chapada Diamantina. The karstic domain is dominated by flat relief and slightly undulating terrain. The main features include collapse sinkholes and caves that extend into galleries for up to tens of kilometers. The lithostructural domain consists mainly of quartzite rocks and is divided into three subdomains: (1) Rio de Contas in the western portion, with a very irregular relief and marked by lowered anticlines and hanging synclines with centers emptied by differential erosion, which exposes its flanks in hogbacks; (2) Paraguaçu in the eastern portion, where the flank of a large anticline that is raised and slightly inclined toward the east predominates, and (3) Central Pediplain in the central-southern portion (marked by flat to hilly terrain with some residual elevations). In addition to fluvial morphodynamics, several anthropogenic features have developed over the past 200 years from mining activity.