Browsing by Author "A. Dias, João"
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- An analysis of coastal sand dune management in Oregon (United States) from the 19th to the 21st centuryPublication . Sampath, D.M.R.; Freitas, J.G.; A. Dias, JoãoThe Drivers -Pressures -State -Impact -Response (DPSIR) framework was employed to understand the land use policies developed to manage coastal sand dunes and their consequences in Oregon, United States of America, during two contrasting periods: from the 19th to the late 20th century and from there to the early 21st century. A combination of historical data and scientific literature was used for this study. Dune destabilization became a socio-economic issue as Euro-Americans settled in Oregon in the 19th century. Ammophila arenaria and Ammophila breviligulata were widely used for stabilization. This led to a paradigm shift regarding dunes, at a time when their management was becoming more complex due to socio-natural factors. As non-native beachgrasses turned invasive causing the loss of biodiversity and habitats, their removal became the focus to restore the active dunes to support the natural processes of the ecosystem. However, the removal of these beachgrasses, particularly, Ammophila arenaria, results in low dune heights, increasing the risk of coastal flooding by reducing their effectiveness as a natural defense against sea -level rise and extreme storm surges. The reason for the contrasting dune management policies in Oregon since the 1930 s is that the management response to environmental impacts due to human drivers creates new drivers, pressures, and corresponding impacts, as shown in the DPSIR analysis. Thus, land use policies for managing coastal dunes in Oregon and other places must balance efforts to restore the native biodiversity while minimizing coastal flooding in a context of accelerating and continuous sea -level rise in the 21st century.
- Is the sea the enemy? Occupation and anthropogenic impacts at Costa da Caparica (Portugal)Publication . Pereira, Olegário Nelson Azevedo; Bastos, Maria Rosário; Ferreira, José Carlos; A. Dias, JoãoThis article explores the development of human occupation and the anthropogenic impacts at Costa da Caparica, a Portuguese coastal town that faces several challenges concerning coastal erosion processes. A historical long-term analysis was made, mainly through medieval and modern writing sources, crossing such textual data with geology, geography, and other related scientific disciplines studies regarding the coastal erosion problems of the study area. Therefore, from the Middle Ages to the present, human actions concerning this area were examined. The sea was first seen as an income, due to tourism, and later seen as a danger. It is argued that human behaviors were the main cause of historical problems and also the present vulnerabilities and risks associated with this coastal stretch of the Portuguese littoral. We must search the past for answers to understand present problems and think about the future. This is the main purpose of this paper: to contribute to a better knowledge concerning coastal sustainability based on the results of past human actions, as a way to avoid such mistakes in the future.