Combined Assessment of Geodiversity As a Tool to Territorial Management: Application to Southeastern Coast of State of São Paulo, Brazil

Geodiversity, conceived as the variety of geological, geomorphological, pedological, and hydrological material and processes, comprises, with biodiversity, the natural diversity. Although recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in Brazil, there are few cities that effectively insert the topic of geodiversity in conservation and management strategies. This work aims to present the integrated data regarding the geodiversity assessment at Caraguatatuba municipality. These data will support the ecosystem services evaluation in the municipality and in the Caraguatatuba Nucleus of the Serra do Mar State Park and buffer zone. The methodology was based on three stages: (i) definition of geoenvironmental units on a scale of 1:25,000; (ii) identification of the Essential Geodiversity Variables (EGVs); and (iii) establishment of land use categories based on the comparison of maps for the last three decades (1990–2020). The geoenvironmental mapping defined eleven units distributed in five domains, which, together with the EGVs, were used as the bases for the assessment of the local geodiversity. The use and occupation maps demonstrated anthropic threats and impacts to the EGVs, linking urban growth, tourism, and mining activities. The data proved to be relevant and pointed out useful tools to be applied in strategies for the identification and integrated insertion of geodiversity in the spatial planning, with emphasis in protected areas.