Environment diagnosis for land-use planning based on a tectonic and multidimensional methodology

Highlights: • Tectonics is important in the land-use planning of tectonically active regions. • The characterization of the physical environment requires comprehensive studies. • Geology allows knowing the distribution of natural hazards in the land. • Tectonics can be used to define homogeneous environmental units. In this research, emphasis is placed on the information and diagnostic phase of the physical environment for land-use planning (LUP). Our work is mainly focused on a land-planning case study of a tectonic depression, the Tulum Valley, which extends into the Pampean flat-slab segment. We propose the use of tectonic structures to define Environment Units (EUs) as necessary boundaries for the LUP. For this purpose, we have studied tectonic structures using geophysical methods and, subsequently, subjected multiple dimensions of the physical environment in the territory to an exhaustive analysis. Moreover, we have examined the influence of structural geology on water, soils, processes, materials and forms in the landscape. The study revealed the close and significant relationship between the different elements of the physical environment observable on the surface (shape, distribution, appearance, degree of development) and the tectonic structures, which supported the use of this criterion to define EUs. In order to test it, we applied the same methodology in another area of South America, the city of Bucaramanga, where it was possible to define EUs based on tectonics and to also establish comparisons. The methodology proposed for the diagnostic phase based mainly on the tectonic factor represents a challenge as regards its application in other active tectonic zones. Some limitations could arise such as fragmented environmental information from different institutions or the small to non-existent number of tectonic studies available. As a strong point, we find that the method allows achieving a comprehensive study of the environmental setting and thus to propose activities and land uses in each EU according to the real reception capacity of the land. This exhaustive analysis of the physical environment will also help decision-makers to understand and manage the socio-natural risks of the territory where communities develop.