Natural Capital and Its Services in the Caatinga Phytogeographic Domain

A new millennium has begun, and a new paradigm in exploitation of natural resources to generate products has emerged. In this sense, a model in line with local environmental reality and based on the sustainable development goals (SDG) proposed by the UN is required. The document addresses the suitab...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Maia de Andrade, Eunice, Nascimento Aquino, Deodato, José Canafístula, Francisco
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade Federal de Roraima (UFRR)
Repositorio:Agro@mbiente on-line
Idioma:portugués
OAI Identifier:oai:oai.revista.ufrr.br:article/7447
Acceso en línea:https://revista.ufrr.br/agroambiente/article/view/7447
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Tropical Semiarid – natural resources. Solar energy. Rural development. Rainfall – droughts. Caatinga. Ecosystem services.
Descripción
Sumario:A new millennium has begun, and a new paradigm in exploitation of natural resources to generate products has emerged. In this sense, a model in line with local environmental reality and based on the sustainable development goals (SDG) proposed by the UN is required. The document addresses the suitability of natural capitals in the Caatinga phytogeographic domain (CPD) for generating products, encompassing primary (solar energy and rainfall) and secondary (soil and vegetation) natural resources. These resources have well-defined scarcity (water, soil, and vegetation) and abundance (solar radiation) characteristics. Water is scarce due to uncertain rainfall and frequent droughts. Due to their fragility, soils, when shallow and/or with a low organic matter content, are susceptible to erosion and salinization. In turn, vegetation is scarce due to low potential for biomass production (50% of the area has a biomass production below 2 Mg ha-1. As for solar energy, there is no uncertainty regarding its occurrence in the CPD. Moreover, the region has the highest solar radiation intensities in Brazil, with daily averages ranging from 4.8 to 6.0 Kwh m-2 within a year. Therefore, a new model must be adopted, in which socioeconomic development is based on the potential of local natural resources. In short, abundant resources should be prioritized over scarce ones. Furthermore, exploitation must be democratized and not only in the hands of few privileged individuals