Utilization of Analytical and Isotopic Techniques Applied to Environmental Traceability Methods

• Grant number: 24/18386-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Program to Stimulate Scientific Vocations
• Start date: April 23, 2025
• End date: June 06, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering - Nature Conservation
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Antonio Martinelli
• Grantee: Henrique Costa Cardoso
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Human activity has been largely responsible for the increase in deforestation in biomes such as the Amazon, the Atlantic Forest, and the Pantanal. Therefore, brands in the agricultural and forestry sectors are aware of the need for product origin certification as a competitive advantage, due to the growing global market demand for the adoption of sustainable production practices aligned with a policy of regularization and monitoring of extractive activities. In this context, the center based on the INCT "Forensic Metrology and Traceability in Agro-environmental Quality - MRFor" focuses on conducting innovative and robust basic and applied research on important issues of scientific traceability in support of the sustainability of modern agriculture and forest monitoring in the Amazon and the Atlantic Forest. Thus, various projects and sub-projects are carried out in different areas related to the INCT for the development and application of established tools aimed at environmental traceability. Genetic technologies, bioinformatics, nanotechnology, isotopic analysis, and artificial intelligence enable the creation of traceable systems, establishing direct links between stakeholders throughout the chain, from producers to end users. This facilitates the creation and improvement of public policies aimed at combating environmental crimes and illegal deforestation in production, agricultural, and logging processes. Consequently, the student Henrique Costa Cardoso, through the Aristides Pacheco Leão Program for Encouraging Scientific Vocations, funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) in partnership with the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), will have the opportunity to participate in training focused on the activities of the INCT to deepen his knowledge of the methodologies used in various sub-projects, with a focus on chemical, analytical, and isotopic techniques. The activities will be carried out at the Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture at the University of São Paulo (Piracicaba) under the supervision and guidance of Professor Luiz Antonio Martinelli, with the support of Professor Tsai Siu Mui and other researchers from the center, with the goal of spreading the actions and knowledge related to the INCT to new researchers. (AU)