Study of historical changes and current dynamics of the Santo Antonio Creek Basin landscape in the perspective of the GTP (Geosystem - territory - landscape) model

• Grant number: 13/03805-0
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: June 01, 2013 - May 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Physical Geography
• Principal researcher: Messias Modesto dos Passos
• Grantee: Messias Modesto dos Passos
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Santo Antonio Creek drainage basin is located in the municipality of Mirante do Paranapanema, known historically as the capital of Pontal. This portion - in the far southwest - of the territory of São Paulo had an initial occupation driven by the advancement of coffee and the railroad in the early 20th century and, later - from the 1940s -, catering to market demands, experienced ephemeral wealth motivated by cotton growing --.Pontal do Paranapanema - in the Southwest of the State of São Paulo, has suffered a series of environmental changes since the arrival of the pioneering front, in the 1940s. One of the goals of this project is to conduct a "pedagogical" investigation to demonstrate the validity and relevance of working with the GTP (Geosystem - Territory - Landscape) model, especially when aiming to: (a) rebuild the Physical Geography and (b) diagnose/predict the environmental dynamics - in line with the theoretical and methodological advances of the concept of "environment", i.e. passing from sectored analyses to the analysis of the polysemic landscape. The GTP (Geosystem/source - Territory/ressource - Landscape/ressourcement) is a systemic construction intended to demonstrate the complexity of the geographical environment while respecting, as much as possible, its diversity and geography interactivity. The geography used and uses the landscape as a tool of observation and hierarchization of spatial phenomena, even in the lack of a methodological consensus or restrictions on relevant levels of analysis. The landscape is an essential dimension of the territory. The Territory Landscape is defined as a territorialized/materialized geographical fact. (AU)