Low Representation in International Databases of Brazilian Research on Coastal Dune GeoheritageAbstract
Coastal dune systems are important for the environment and society, serving as habitats and protecting coastal areas from marine flooding and erosion. Brazil, a global influence in geoheritage research, has significant dune systems, such as Lençóis Maranhenses and Dunas do Albardão. However, considering Brazil's extensive coastline and the weakening of its coastal protection laws, a unified understanding of the threats to and geoconservation strategies for coastal dunes is needed. Therefore, this study explores and analyzes these aspects in Brazilian indexed scientific production on geoheritage and geoconservation of coastal dunes, using bibliometric and bibliographic techniques in Web of Science and Scopus databases, from 1990 to 2024. Brazilian research on this topic of coastal dunes has low international representation, with only seven articles indexed in the analyzed databases. All articles were published through research conducted by public Higher Education Institutions. Key authors are affiliated with institutions in Rio de Janeiro state. Urbanization is the primary threat identified, causing sediment suppression and disrupting dune dynamics. Geoconservation strategies focus on inventory, valuation, and threat diagnosis, but lack practical guidelines. Reflecting the emerging nature of this research topic, this study offers an integrated perspective. Future research should focus on practical strategies, including practical socioeconomic, political and legal aspects, for the effective geoconservation of these environments and increasing Brazil's representation on the international scientific landscape.
Keywords:
Bibliometric analysis; Scoping review; Brazilian UNESCO geoparks
Resumo
Dunas costeiras são importantes para o meio ambiente e a sociedade, servindo como habitats e protegendo as áreas litorâneas da inundação e erosão marinha. O Brasil, uma influência global na pesquisa em geopatrimônio, possui sistemas dunares significativos, como os Lençóis Maranhenses e as Dunas do Albardão. No entanto, considerando a extensa costa brasileira e o enfraquecimento de suas leis de proteção costeira, é necessário um entendimento unificado das ameaças e das estratégias de geoconservação para sistemas eólicos. Assim, este estudo explora e analisa esses aspectos na produção científica brasileira sobre geopatrimônio e geoconservação de dunas costeiras, utilizando técnicas bibliométricas e bibliográficas nas bases de dados Web of Science e Scopus, de 1990 a 2024. Neste tema, a pesquisa brasileira tem baixa representatividade internacional, com apenas sete artigos indexados nas bases de dados analisadas. Todos os artigos foram publicados por meio de pesquisas conduzidas por Instituições Públicas de Ensino Superior. Os principais autores são afiliados a instituições do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. A urbanização é a principal ameaça identificada, causando supressão de sedimentos e perturbando a dinâmica das dunas. As estratégias de geoconservação focam no inventário, na valoração e no diagnóstico de ameaças, mas carecem de diretrizes práticas. Refletindo a natureza emergente deste tema de pesquisa, este estudo oferece uma perspectiva integrada do material publicado. Pesquisas futuras devem concentrar-se em estratégias práticas, incluindo aspectos socioeconômicos, políticos e jurídicos, para a geoconservação efetiva desses ambientes e para aumentar a representatividade do Brasil no cenário científico internacional.
Palavras-chave:
Análise bibliométrica; Revisão de escopo; Geoparques brasileiros da UNESCO
1 Introduction
Coastal dunes are geomorphological features of global importance, that can protect coastal populations from marine flooding and erosion, enhance climate resilience, provide paleoclimatic information, serve as important habitats, contribute to the hydrogeological cycle, store archaeological sites, and increase the scenic value of a landscape (Alves, Cardozo & Borba 2024; Alves & Urban 2023; Hesp 2013; Portz et al. 2015). As environments sensitive to anthropogenic actions, the geoconservation of coastal dunes seeks to reconcile geoheritage protection with sustainable economic development (Brocx & Semeniuk 2009). Within that setting, the scientific community has been intensifying geoheritage studies of these environments. In international databases such as Web of Science and Scopus, coastal dunes are one of the most geologically significant elements in geoheritage studies (Quesada-Valverde & Quesada-Román 2023) and Brazil stands out among the most productive countries (Herrera-Franco et al. 2022; Quesada-Valverde & Quesada- Román 2023). Brazil has a vast coastline, with notable geodiversity of coastal dune systems from north to south, such as the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park and the Albardão Dune Field. In that context, research has aimed to advance the geoconservation of coastal systems in Brazil.
Geoconservation is a subdivision of Earth sciences that aims to identify, protect, and manage valuable elements of geodiversity (Brilha 2016). In turn, geodiversity consists of the abiotic elements and active geomorphic processes of Earth, possessing intrinsic and subjective values (Borba 2011). In Brazil, such studies are widespread along the country's coastline (Rockett et al. 2022; Santos, Mansur & Seoane et al. 2022). However, although Brazil is a global influence on geoheritage research, and the literature demonstrates research activity on its dune ecosystems, the international visibility and research metrics of this production in major scientific databases remain unknown. Moreover, national legislation for coastal areas protection is unfavorable for geoconservation (Soares, Barros & Guerra 2022), creating a contrast. Understanding the existing research landscape for coastal dune protection becomes critical in a context of legislative instability.
These contrasting panoramas raise questions about coastal dunes geoheritage studies in Brazil. What is the extent and representation of Brazilian scientific production indexed in the main international databases? What are the main threats and geoconservation strategies proposed in the indexed studies? To answer these questions, this paper explores and analyzes the Brazilian scientific production on geoheritage of coastal dunes, using bibliometric and bibliographic techniques in the Web of Science and Scopus databases. Since Brazil is a large country and influential on the international geoheritage and geoconservation scene, the guiding hypothesis is that geoheritage threats vary among studies and the Brazilian scientific production is proportional to the country's international influence.
2 Methodology and Data
This research is an exploratory investigation of scientific production using bibliographic methods. Bibliometric analysis, which has been used to evaluate the evolution and trends of research areas (Fantinel et al. 2025; Herrera-Franco et al. 2022; Quesada-Valverde & Quesada- Román 2023), was used here to obtain scientific studies from international databases and generate quantitative results. The bibliographic analysis took the form of a Scoping Review and was used to obtain qualitative results useful to understand scientific scenarios (Lopez-Cortes et al. 2022). Each method is detailed below.
2.1 Bibliometric Analysis
This research stage used the Web of Science and Scopus databases. Databases such as SciELO and Redalyc were not selected for analysis. This choice was made because they are two regional databases that have low overlap with international studies and focus on increasing the visibility of Ibero-American studies in the areas of social sciences and humanities (McManus & Baeta Neves 2022).
To find articles associated with the study topic, we used terms common to the scope - such as “geoheritage”, “geoconservation”, “geotourism”, “geopark”, “coastal conservation” and synonymous terms (e.g. “geological heritage”), in English and Portuguese. To refine the search to our specific objectives, the words ‘dunes’ and ‘brazil’ (and their synonyms in Portuguese) were added as mandatory terms using ‘AND’ operators. Occurrences of these terms were searched for in the titles, abstracts and keywords of the documents in the databases.
The time interval began in 1990, the year before the first International Conference on the Protection of Geological Heritage took place - marking the rise of this research scope (Reynard & Brilha 2018). The interval ended in 2024, as the year 2025 had not yet concluded. The search was not restricted to a specific type of document (Table 1). Six documents were found on the Web of Science database and six on the Scopus database. These results were downloaded in BibTex format for subsequent merging and graph construction.
The BibTex databases were merged to remove duplicate articles in the RStudio (Posit Team 2025) using the Biblioshiny package (Aria & Cuccurullo 2017), a widely recognized tool used in bibliometric analysis and mapping of scientific research fields. After merging, the resulting database contained seven articles. Given the small size of the database, we decided to present quantitative graphs on annual scientific production, average citations per year, most relevant/cited authors and articles, and most important affiliations in Biblioshiny.
2.2 Scoping Review
The scoping review was conducted on the seven articles found. We extracted information from the articles, following an adaptation of the method presented by Mak and Thomas (2022) . We extracted qualitative data on the geosites, such as threats to the dune system analyzed in the papers and geoconservation strategies. This information was used to determine the main threats and the subsequent conservation approach.
3 Results and Discussion
3.1 Bibliometrics: Brazil’s Low Representation in International Databases
Despite Brazil's international prominence in geoheritage and geoconservation and an international interest in coastal systems, the results reveal that scientific production indexed in the main international databases on this specific topic is limited and intermittent. In the Web of Science and Scopus, annual production was one publication in 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018 and 2020 (Figure 1A). The year 2022 recorded the highest production, with two articles. In total, seven articles were published over the period. Similarly, citations varied, peaking in 2018 (2.2) and a downward trend until 2022 (0.5) (Figure 1B).
Although the search terms and operators used in the databases are wide-ranging (Table 1), they represent a very specific niche in geoheritage research. Other bibliometric analyses (Herrera-Franco et al. 2022; Hincapie et al. 2023; Quesada-Valverde & Quesada-Román 2023) evaluated the broader scope of geoheritage. This may explain the small sample of articles found in this study.
The peak in citations in 2018 (Figure 1B) may be a product of the impact cycle of previous articles, which reached maximum influence in this year due to recognition time lags. It is also possible that relevance, dissemination, structural concepts, and scientific trends are responsible for the behavior of citations (Repiso, Moreno-Delgado & Aguaded 2020). In this case, institutions and authors also play a role in influencing citations.
Metrics of scientific publications on coastal dunes geoheritage and geoconservation in Brazil in the Web of Science and Scopus databases: A. Publications per year; B. Average annual citation. C. Most influential affiliations; D. Authors and number of documents published; and E. Most cited articles.
The most cited article is Mansur and Carvalho (2011) , with 22 citations (Figure 1E). This is followed by Avelar et al. (2018) with 18 citations and Silva and Nascimento (2020) with 7 citations. Santos, Mansur & Seoane (2022) , and Rockett et al. (2022) received 2 citations each, while Silva & Nascimento (2016) received 1 citation.
Among the seven published documents, five are affiliated with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), whose research output on this topic has increased since 2018 (Figure 1C). Three documents are associated with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). Finally, two documents have authors affiliated with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). The authors with the highest number of articles are Kátia Mansur and Marcos Nascimento, with three articles each, followed by Matheus Silva, with two articles. The other 13 authors listed (Anjos S, Avelar S, Barboza E, Carvalho J, Hesp P, Nolasco M, Portz L, Rocha A, Rockett G, Santos D, Seoane J, Vasconcelos C, Vasconcelos G) have one article each (Figure 1D).
The predominance of public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) as the main affiliations reflects the Brazilian scientific scenario, where federal and state HEIs are responsible for the nation’s scientific output. This relationship raises questions about factors that influenced the production of UFRJ, UFRN and UFRGS. Ostensibly, the main factor may be geographical; being located in coastal regions, they are more prone to studies of this scope. However, other universities located along the Brazilian coast were not found in the databases. Thus, other factors are likely associated, such as the presence of research groups and the existence of Geoparks or Geopark projects.
Kátia Mansur’s influence on the Brazilian geoheritage scene has been observed by previous research (Herrera-Franco et al. 2022) and her presence as an author on the two most-cited articles corroborates this influence and active participation. This influence may be associated with the UFRJ institutional infrastructure (Geodiversity and Geoconservation Laboratory - LAGESED) and direct involvement in the Costões e Lagunas do Rio de Janeiro Geopark Project. This framework encourages scientific production. Similarly, UFRN, associated with researchers Marcos Nascimento and Matheus Silva, is the main academic institution behind the Seridó Geopark, recognized as a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2022. The same relationship can be seen at UFRGS, which is connected to the Southern Canyons Pathways UNESCO Global Geopark.
In addition to the seven studies reviewed, other studies from these or other universities constitute a ‘gray literature’ in the context of this research. Some examples are Portz et al. (2015, 2021), Rêgo, Aguiar & Soares (2016) , Rockett et al. (2018) , and Silva, Santos & Rocha (2022) . These studies may offer a broader view of the Brazilian scenario of geoheritage and geoconservation of coastal dunes. However, they were not found with the query used, likely due to article indexing terms.
This finding partially refutes the study's initial hypothesis that national production would be proportional to Brazil's prominent position on the international stage. Meanwhile, despite the low number of articles, the journal that appears the most in the metrics is Geoheritage, a high impact journal, suggesting that, even though there is little representation, the published documents reflect quality research.
3.2 Scoping Review: Anthropogenic Threats vs Geoconservation Strategies
Globally, studies have detailed the geomorphological, ecosystem, degradation, and conservation aspects of coastal dunes (Alves, Cardozo & Borba 2024; Coratza et al. 2019; Gravis et al. 2020; Rutherford, Newsome & Kobryn 2015; Souza & Santos 2015). In Brazil, however, no comprehensive overview of the geoconservation strategies currently exists. This led to this research’s second question, which sought to understand how Brazilian studies have addressed this research theme.
The scoping review revealed a recurring pattern between threats and geoconservation strategies in the analyzed studies. The indexed Brazilian literature covers the states of Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Rio Grande do Norte (RN), Rio Grande do Sul (RS) and an analysis of the Northeast (NE). The geosites studied include the Peró Dune Field (RJ) (Mansur & Carvalho 2011; Santos, Mansur & Seoane 2022), the Lakes Region (RJ) with the Peró and Dama Branca Dune Field (Santos, Mansur & Seoane 2022), the geodiversity of Natal (RN) (Silva & Nascimento 2016, 2020), the Itapeva Dune Field in the Southern Canyons Pathways UNESCO Global Geopark (RS) (Rockett et al. 2022), and geosites in the Northeast such as Morro do Careca (RN) and Dunas de Jenipabu (RN) (Nascimento, Rocha & Nolasco 2013) (Figure 2).
Geographic location and regional distribution of the analyzed coastal dune systems: A. South America; B. Dune fields in the state of Rio Grande do Norte; C. Dune fields in the state of Rio de Janeiro; and D. Dune field in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Several authors point to real estate speculation as the main threat to coastal dunes, a continuous and long-term process that results in the degradation and suppression of sediment source areas. This happens in RJ, RN and RS states (Mansur & Carvalho 2011; Rockett et al. 2022; Silva & Nascimento 2020). Associated with this urban expansion, the interruption of the dynamic natural processes that maintain these systems represents a critical, albeit less visible, threat.
Buildings and infrastructure obstruct wind and sediment flow, impacting dune system natural reactivation and leaving them static and vulnerable to erosion (Rockett et al. 2022; Santos, Mansur & Seoane 2022). Illegal sand removal, vehicle traffic, the planting of exotic species, and destruction from disorderly tourism are frequently mentioned threats. Capable of suddenly influencing coastal dune fields (Portz et al. 2021; Rêgo, Aguiar & Soares, 2016), of all the evolutionary conditioning factors, the anthropogenic factor is gaining increasing importance in scientific research (Farrell et al. 2024). Two factors that could explain the anthropogenic influence on Brazilian coastal dune systems are inadequate legal protection and public misinformation.
In Brazil, various laws are aimed at protecting coastal zones. The most important of these, from the point of view of coastal dune systems, is Federal Law 12.651/12, also known as the Brazilian Forest Code (Brasil 2012). This law has significant flaws: it specifically protects fixed dunes as Permanent Preservation Areas but leaves active/mobile dunes without the same explicit legal consideration (Pinheiro, Moura-Fé & Freitas 2013).
These flaws have been drastically aggravated by two recent factors: a process of dismantling of environmental legislation that began in 2019 (Barbosa, Alves & Grelle 2021) and the repeal of Resolution 303/2002 of the National Environment Council, a measure that, according to Soares, Barros & Guerra (2022) , effectively made Brazilian dunes available for industrial and urban uses - recently reaffirmed.
On November 11, 2025, the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ruled that coastal dune restinga vegetation is only a Permanent Preservation Area while it fixes dunes and stabilizes mangroves, within 300 meters of the highest tide level (Santa Catarina State 2025). Clearly, today, mobile coastal dunes have no legal protection, nor does restinga vegetation, based on the argument that protection implies a decrease in economic development. On the other hand, the few geoconservation strategies found provide little practical guidelines for effectively protecting coastal dunes in Brazil (Table 2).
Scoping review of the seven articles found in the databases inspected. Acronyms: Ar - article; J: Journal; E - State; G - Geossites; GE - Geoconservation strategies
Conceptual frameworks consider inventorying and assessment the first steps of geoheritage investigation, which then encourages subsequent geoconservation strategies (Brilha 2016; Gray 2019). In the inspected articles, there is a progression from scientific diagnosis to integrated action, involving society, public authorities and sustainable land management. In analogy to the concepts presented by Borba et al. (2013) , the seven studies present basic geoconservation strategies (focusing on identifying, inventorying and evaluating geosites); and applied ones (enhancing, protecting and publicizing through education and tourism).
Building a scientific base is certainly a starting point for any geoconservation approach - and any Conservation Unity creation. The articles highlight the use of Geographic Information Systems and geoheritage assessment techniques, as well as suggesting the wide application of geotourism and geoeducation (Avelar et al. 2018; Mansur & Carvalho 2011; Santos, Mansur & Seoane 2022; Silva & Nascimento 2016, 2020). Monitoring the environment and publicizing scientific knowledge can reduce public misinformation and may lead to stronger laws. However, by focusing on basic geoconservation strategies, there is a lack of answers to practical questions about the main threats.
For example, has the delimitation of trails in the Itapeva Dunes Field, as recommended by Rockett et al. (2022) reduced local degradation? All the geosites mentioned in the studies found in international databases are in fact located within some Conservation Unit: the Dama Branca Dune Field is a core area of Costa do Sol State Park (PECSol); the Peró Dune Field is located within Pau-Brasil Environmental Protection Area; the Itapeva Dune Field is part of Itapeva State Park; Morro do Careca is an Environmental Protection Zone; and the Dunas de Jenipabu form the Jenipabu Environmental Protection Area. Since the threat is already recognized inside Conservation Units, evaluating effectiveness of geoconservation actions may be a gap to be addressed in the future.
Another factor that can contribute is raising public awareness - something frequently mentioned in studies but that needs more attention. With the exception of the study by Avelar et al. (2018) , the other studies seem to approach community involvement more from a technical perspective. In recent years, geoeducation has become a powerful teaching tool, enhancing the connection between society and preservation (Alves et al. 2025). Creating geoscientific teaching material about the geoconservation of coastal dunes-explaining what they are, what they are for, and how they work-could be one of the missing pieces to connect these approaches to the community, helping to create a society that does not see environmental preservation as an economic setback.
When comparing Brazilian studies found with examples of the international literature, common points are observed about public awareness and sustainable management (Brocx & Semeniuk 2009; Margiotta & Parise 2019). Other strategies are interventionist, like the reactivation of eolian processes as proposed for the European Sand Belt (Koster 2009). An important approach not applied in the studies evaluated is degradation risk assessment (Mirari, Aoulad-Sidi-Mhend & Benmlih 2020). Another strategy is the 3D reconstruction of eolian features already suppressed (Clivaz & Reynard 2018). Future Brazilian studies could benefit from incorporating these methods.
4 Conclusion
This study conducted an exploratory analysis of Brazilian scientific production on geoheritage and geoconservation of coastal dunes representation in international databases. Bibliometric analysis revealed a limited and intermittent production in Web of Science and Scopus. Scoping review demonstrates that urbanization emerges as the main threat to these ecosystems. Geoconservation approaches are more theoretical than practical.
For geoheritage defense, Brazilian research must prioritize English-language, aiming for internationally indexed publications. In the face of Brazil's legislative instability and weakening coastal protection, international visibility is a political strategy. Placing vulnerable ecosystems on the global scientific stage creates external awareness, pressuring national authorities toward conservation. Using international recognition is essential to bring the country's internal environmental problems into global discussion within a scientific and political context.
The main limitation of this study is the small number of articles published in international databases, which makes the Scoping Review partial in relation to the overall scenario. Another aspect is the lack of consideration of grey literature which, if published in English, could increase the visibility of national research. Even so, results and discussions presented can support future discussions on geoheritage and geoconservation of Brazilian coastal dunes, while grouping and pointing aspects of the internationally published Brazilian research.
5 Acknowledgments
The authors thank the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for granting the master's scholarship to the first author.
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All data included in this study are publicly available in the literature.
