Soils of the Anthropocene: the contribution of environmental toxicology to the proposal of a new suborder for brazilian Antrhoposols

• Grant number: 24/16061-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: February 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography
• Principal Investigator: João Osvaldo Rodrigues Nunes
• Grantee: Mariana dos Santos Moreno
• Supervisor: Olukayode Jegede
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of California, Davis (UC Davis), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/08795-4 - Anthroposols contaminated by potentially toxic metals in the Timburi Environmental Protection Area, municipality of Presidente Prudente/SP, BP.MS

Abstract

This practical proposal is linked to the Master's research titled "Anthroposols contaminated by potentially toxic metals (PTMs) in the Timburi Environmental Protection Area (EPA), municipality of Presidente Prudente/SP" (process 2023/08795-4). The research aims to contribute to the document "Antropossolos: proposta de ordem (1ª aproximação)" by proposing a classificatory suborder of Anthroposols that reflects the uniqueness of agricultural soils contaminated by PTMs present in pesticides. In rural areas like the Timburi EPA, where large amounts of pesticides are used, soils are particularly vulnerable to contamination. These agricultural inputs contain elements such as Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), Copper (Cu), and Chromium (Cr), all members of the toxic metals group, which includes both metals and metalloids associated with pollution and toxicity. Generally, these metals are highly harmful to plants, animals, and human health, and their excessive presence may be closely related to the genesis of Anthroposols. This project considers it necessary to assess the negative impact of PTMs from these agrochemicals on soil health in potential Anthroposols. To this end, land use maps will be created, soil samples will be collected for routine physical and chemical analyses, and morphological descriptions will be performed to analyze the potential existence of Anthroposols and their classification in a new suborder. Furthermore, it is of utmost importance that toxicology be included in the Master's thesis of this investigation mainly for the toxicological assessment of these PTMs. To deepen knowledge in this area and expand the theoretical and methodological contributions on this topic in Brazil, an internship with Professor Olukayode Jegede from the University of California, Davis, United States of America, assistant professor of Cooperative Extension for agricultural toxicology in the Department of Environmental Toxicology at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and an expert on the subject, will provide enormous theoretical support and methodological contributions to the research underway in Brazil.