Brazilian sandy beaches: characteristics, ecosystem services, impacts, knowledge and priorities

ABSTRACT Sandy beaches constitute a key ecosystem and provide socioeconomic goods and services, thereby playing an important role in the maintenance of human populations and in biodiversity conservation. Despite the ecological and social importance of these ecosytems, Brazilian sandy beaches are significantly impacted by human interference, chemical and organic pollution and tourism, as well as global climate change. These factors drive the need to better understand the environmental change and its consequences for biota. To promote the implementation of integrated studies to detect the effects of regional and global environmental change on beaches and on other benthic habitats of the Brazilian coast, Brazilian marine researchers have established The Coastal Benthic Habitats Monitoring Network (ReBentos). In order to provide input for sample planning by ReBentos, we have conducted an intensive review of the studies conducted on Brazilian beaches and summarized the current knowledge about this environment. In this paper, we present the results of this review and describe the physical, biological and socioeconomics features of Brazilian beaches. We have used these results, our personal experience and worldwide literature to identify research projects that should be prioritized in the assessment of regional and global change on Brazilian sandy beaches. We trust that this paper will provide insights for future studies and represent a significant step towards the conservation of Brazilian beaches and their biodiversity.

摘要
沙质海滩是一类关键生态系统，可提供社会经济产品与服务，因此在保障人类聚居区存续及保护生物多样性方面发挥着重要作用。尽管这类生态系统兼具生态与社会价值，但巴西沙质海滩仍受到人类干扰、化学与有机污染、旅游业活动以及全球气候变化的显著影响。上述因素使得学界亟需进一步厘清环境变化及其对生物群落造成的影响。为推动开展综合研究以探明区域与全球环境变化对巴西沿岸海滩及其他底栖生境的影响，巴西海洋研究者组建了沿海底栖生境监测网络（Coastal Benthic Habitats Monitoring Network，ReBentos）。为给该网络的采样规划提供依据，我们针对巴西海滩相关研究开展了详尽综述，并梳理了当前对该环境的认知现状。本文呈现了该综述的研究结果，并阐述了巴西海滩的物理、生物及社会经济特征。我们结合本次综述结果、团队实践经验及全球相关文献，明确了巴西沙质海滩区域与全球变化评估领域的优先研究项目。我们相信本文可为后续研究提供研究启示，同时也将成为推进巴西海滩及其生物多样性保护的重要一步。