Defining Carrying Capacity for tourism in caves of the Gruta do Lago Azul Natural Monument (Bonito, MS).
Authors
Paulo César Boggiani
Departamento de Geologia Sedimentar e Ambiental, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo (USP).
Osvaldo José da Silva
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Tecnologias Ambientais, Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS)
Eunice Aparecida Bianchi Gallati
Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
Ana Lúcia Desenzi Gesicki
Departamento Nacional da Produção Mineral - Distrito São Paulo
Leandro de Oliveira Salles
Departamento de Vertebrados, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).
Maria Margareth Escobar Ribas Lima
Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico Artístico Nacional (IPHAN)
Keywords:
Cavernas turísticas, Cifuentes, capacidade de carga, Temperatura e umidade
Abstract
Lago Azul cave (LA) is the main natural tourist attraction
in the Pantanal and Serra da Bodoquena area of western Brazil (Mato Grosso do Sul), and one of the most important speleological show-
cave in Brazil which receives around 40 000 tourists annually. This cave and the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cave (NSA) are in the
Monumento Natural Gruta do Lago Azul, and the second is presently closed to tourism. The carrying capacity for touristic visitation of
these caves, i.e. the number of visits per day without negative environmental impact, is the subject of ongoing debate. Cave temperature
(T) and relative moisture (M) monitoring over a 15 month period, revealed a high energy flow between the surface and subterranean
environment in both caves. For this reason, the Cifuente method was used to calculate carrying capacity in these caves. Between 26 June
1999 and 29 September 2000, T and M were monitored at four stations in LA and four in NSA and compared to values obtained at an
external station. Average temperature of the external station was 24.76 ºC and, in which 4 stations in LA, the average temperature ranged
from 20.50ºC to 21.52ºC while, in the NSA, from 18.22ºC to 21.63ºC. Average relative moisture (M) outside the caves was 69.90% while,
between 4 stations in LA, moisture average was from 90.29% to 96.81%. Similar values were measured in the Nossa Senhora Aparecida
