Coastal areas are highly susceptible to the effects of climate change, particularly to sea-level rise and extreme rainfall events, resulting in increased social and environmental vulnerabilities. In this context, the need for predictive planning instruments, especially in densely populated coastal areas, is a critical management priority. A number of indexes has been developed to assess coastal vulnerability. However, coastal vulnerability indexes are yet to simultaneously consider inland (e.g., landslides and flooding) and ocean (sea-level rise and coastal erosion) hazards in conjunction. To help fill this gap, we developed the Socio-Environmental Vulnerability Index for Coastal Areas. The proposed index is a diagnostic tool to assess the socio-environmental vulnerability of coastal regions in the context of climate change. Applied to the city of Santos, a coastal municipality in São Paulo state, Brazil, the index revealed that most of the city are in areas highly vulnerable to sea-level rise and floods related to extreme rainfall events. Findings show that, in fact, approximately 70% of the area of Santos (27.5 km²) consists of high vulnerability areas mostly located close to urban drainage channels, residential, and other built-in areas. Another 0.12% (0.05 km²) were classified as very high vulnerability areas compromising port and industrial infrastructure. These results highlights the susceptibility of the urban insular area of Santos to climatic change hazards. This study might prove relevant to support local decision-makers in preparing adaptation plans and responding to climate-related risks in vulnerable coastal cities.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar a temperatura-base inferior (Tb) a partir da unidade fototérmica (UF) para o cultivo experimental de manga Alfa sob condições de cerrado. Foram utilizados dados diários da temperatura do ar disponibilizados pela Estação Agrometeorológica Padre Ricardo Remetter, localizada em Santo Antônio do Leverger-MT (15,8° S e 56,1° W, 140 m), e avaliação sensorial do estádio de maturação dos frutos de manga. A Tb foi determinada pelo método da menor variabilidade das unidades fototérmicas (UF) acumuladas do período da floração à colheita dos frutos, variabilidade avaliada pelo coeficiente de variação (cv) simulado para diferentes valores da Tb. De julho a novembro de 2007, em três plantas de um pomar demonstrativo irrigado, foram identificados 82 frutos para o acompanhamento do crescimento e maturação. Entre esses frutos, em meados de dezembro de 2007, foi possível identificar 13 frutos que atingiram a maturidade fisiológica, após um período médio de observação de 112 dias. Para exigência fototérmica de 1.878.166,1 UF, encontrou-se Tb de 10 °C, valor consistente com os apresentados na literatura para a cultivar de manga, o que comprova a eficiência do método que combina a ação da temperatura e do fotoperíodo sobre a maturação dos frutos e que confere um caráter mais racional que o método tradicional da soma térmica.

In Santa Rosa de Lima - SC - Brazil, a small municipality in South Region mainly covered by Atlantic Rain Forest, there is an effort to promote agroecology as socio-ecological improvement for family farmers. Part of this effort was conducted with young farmers in a debate about their land-use practices and the consequences of diversifying their activities. This study describes the process of a participatory modeling approach carried out in a workshop with young farmers to co-design conceptual models for land use practices. As results, a system dynamics model was built to represent their reality. The results of the workshop were embedded in a model to simulate a typical local property and provide insights into the consequences of diversifying their agricultural production by using the agroecological practices. Finally, the work presents the designed model and the first outcomes of scenario simulation, discussing the use of system thinking approaches in participatory modeling.