Impacts of the quilombola shifting cultivation system on the soils of Atlantic Forest remnants in the Vale do Ribeira (São Paulo, Brazil)

• Grant number: 12/17651-1
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: June 01, 2013
• End date: June 30, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography - Human Geography
• Principal Investigator: Cristina Adams
• Grantee: Cristina Adams
• Host Institution: Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades (EACH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Alexandre Antunes Ribeiro Filho ; Daniela Ianovali ; Danielle Albino ; Sidneide Manfredini ; Walter Alves Neves

Abstract

The pristine nature of tropical rainforests has been questioned in the last decades. This is due to the premise that man is an essential part of their dynamic ecological processes. The shifting cultivation system (SCS) practiced in tropical forests has been part of these processes, but its sustainability is still under debate. The Quilombola populations from the Ribeira Valley are shifting cultivators, and have influenced the Atlantic Forest landscape for at least 200 years (?). The aim of this study is to investigate the impacts of the Quilombola SCS on the soil compartment and verify wether a conservative or degradation process is under way, using a pedological analysis. An ethnopedological investigation will also be carried out, in order to understand the motivations behind the practices that may be leading to soil degradation or conservation. (AU)