Relationship between the sand spit geomorphology and restinga vegetation in são francisco do sul island, south region of Brazil

The ocean sand beaches prove to be relevant transitional systems of the coastal zone, highly dynamic and sensitive by virtue of the movement of sediments transported through the constant effects of the waves, coastal currents, tides and winds. The sandspits of Capri beach, São Francisco do Sul, southern Brazil, are characterized by their high dynamics and close correlation with the resting vegetation. The purpose of this work is to analyze the morphology of sandspit and its interaction with the resting vegetation in the structure of the landscape. The herbaceous flora was structurally characterized by means of the phytosociological method, while the geomorphology was characterized by the obtaining of historical and oceanographic morphometric parameters. The analysis of geomorphological and vegetative interaction was carried out through PCA and cluster analysis. The geomorphological mapping identified six different geomorphological units when analyzing variables related to age, width, altitude, sediment volume and dominant geomorphological process, finding a great coastline variation during the period under analysis (1957 to 2016). A total of 18 species, 11 families and a total of 323 individuals were registered in six different geomorphological units. The species Ipomoea pes-caprae and Spartina ciliata were found in all geomorphological units, characterizing their stability in the place. Statistical analysis of interaction between the geomorphological and vegetative variables demosntrated the formation of two groups of the sandspits.