Geoarchaeological analysis of the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic record preserved in cave, rock-shelter and open-air sites in the northern sector of the Meso-Cenozoic of the Western Iberian Peninsula margin (Portugal) reveals several disconformities (erosive unconformities), hiatuses and surface stabilization phases. A recurrent disconformity, dated to ca. 29,500–32,000 cal yr BP, in the time range of Heinrich event 3, must correspond to a main erosive event related to the impacts of climate change on the landscape, including a reduction in vegetation cover and altered precipitation patterns, with the consequent accelerated down-cutting by stream systems, slope reactivation and endokarstic reorganisation, causing the erosion of sediments and soils accumulated in cave, rock-shelter and open-air sites. These processes create a preservation bias that may explain why Early Upper Palaeolithic finds in primary deposition context remains exceptional in the carbonate areas of central-western Portugal, and possibly elsewhere in the other places of Iberia. The impact of such site formation processes must therefore be duly considered in interpretations of the current patchy and scarce archaeological record of the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in south-western Iberia.

Geographic information system analysis and artificial neural network modelling were combined to evaluate forest-fire susceptibility in the Central Portugal administrative area. Data on forest fire events, indicated by burnt areas during the years from 1990 to 2007, were identified from official records. Topographic, supporting infrastructures, vegetation cover, climatic, demographic and satellite-image data were collected, processed and integrated into a spatial database using geographic information system techniques. Eight fire-related factors were extracted from the collected data, including topographic slope and aspect, road density, viewsheds from fire watchtowers, land cover, Landsat Normalised Difference Vegetation Index, precipitation and population density. Ratings were calculated for the classes or categories of each factor using a frequency-probabilistic procedure. The thematic layers (burnt areas and fire-related factors) were analysed using an advanced artificial neural network model to calculate the relative weight of each factor in explaining the distribution of burnt areas. A forest-fire susceptibility index was calculated using the trained back-propagation artificial neural network weights and the frequency-probabilistic ratings, and then a general forest-fire susceptibility index map was constructed in geographic information system. Burnt areas were used to evaluate the forest-fire susceptibility index map, and the results showed an agreement of 78%. This forest-fire susceptibility map can be used in strategic and operational forest-fire management planning at the regional scale.

Neste artigo apresenta‑se um novo modelo de análise da vulnerabilidade social aos perigos naturais e tecnológicos. O índice utilizado nesta análise permite a estruturação da avaliação da vulnerabilidade em duas dimensões: as vulnerabilidades das populações e comunidades (criticidade) e a vulnerabilidade territorial (capacidade de suporte), os quais reflectem a exposição ou a vulnerabilidade biofísica, a resiliência social e a capacidade de suporte infraestrutural. Este novo índice de vulnerabilidade social é aplicado ao sistema territorial de Portugal continental, tendo por base a escala municipal e submunicipal, apreendendo a resiliência social dos indivíduos, dos grupos e das comunidades face a acontecimentos extremos. Os resultados obtidos evidenciam o papel crucial da escala na análise dos processos relacionados com a vulnerabilidade social. Propõe‑se que a cartografia das áreas e dos grupos mais vulneráveis, bem como a identificação dos factores desencadeantes, podem constituir um contributo relevante para os programas de ordenamento e de planeamento destinados a mitigar os riscos e as vulnerabilidades do território.

In this study we intent to contextualize the topic environmental vulnerability on the world stage, highlighting similarities and differences in their conceptions in Portugal and Brazil. In the literature about the vulnerability is already established the contribution of Geotechnologies, especially the Systems of Remote Sensing and Orbital Imaging as well as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and its potential for modelling physical and socioeconomic aspects for the prevention, mitigation and facing risk manifestations, whether natural, technological or mixed. This paper aims to discuss the methodological framework of vulnerability studies and the results of application in the modelling of socioeconomic and environmental data in the context of the Region Centre of Portugal and the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The methodology for analysing the vulnerability of these regions was based on quantitative studies of the capacity of resistance and resilience of populations and territories. The results were consistent with the socio-environmental realities of the study areas and reflect the complexity of facing and recovery of risk situations in case of territories and populations under low economic conditions and urban infrastructure, whether in Brazil and Portugal.Com este estudo, buscamos contextualizar o tema vulnerabilidade socioambiental no cenário mundial, destacando similaridades e discrepâncias nas suas concepções em Portugal e no Brasil. Na literatura que trata de vulnerabilidade já está consagrada a contribuição das Geotecnologias e do seu potencial para a modelagem de aspectos físicos e socioeconômicos, para a prevenção, mitigação e enfrentamento de manifestações de riscos, sejam eles naturais, tecnológicos ou mistos. Este artigo tem como objetivo discutir os referenciais metodológicos dos estudos de vulnerabilidade, bem como os resultados de aplicação na modelagem de dados socioeconômicos e ambientais no contexto da região Centro de Portugal e do estado de São Paulo, Brasil. A metodologia para a análise da vulnerabilidade dessas regiões baseou-se na avaliação quantitativa da capacidade de resistência e de resiliência de populações e de territórios. Os resultados apresentam-se coerentes com as realidades socioambientais das áreas de estudo e refletem a complexidade quando do enfrentamento e recuperação de situações de riscos para o caso de populações e territórios menos providos de condições econômicas e de infraestruturas urbanas, seja no Brasil ou em Portugal