Environmental impacts of the sugar cane planting in the soils of the rural settlements of the Pontal of the Paranapanema- SP

• Grant number: 09/15271-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2009
• End date: November 30, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Physical Geography
• Principal Investigator: João Osvaldo Rodrigues Nunes
• Grantee: Nivea Massaretto Verges
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The region of the Pontal of the Paranapanema are suffering for decades, intensive process of deforestation, changing areas of Atlantic woods and Cerrado woods for pasture and rural crops. This history process is from of a series of public’s politics and private politics, that have one objective, the occupation of the Pontal of the Paranapanema´s territory. One of the most important result of this occupation, that don't have adequate planning, are the serious problems of erosion (foliate and lineal) in soils with predominance of textural classes sandy, configuring some areas that have a degradation with ravine process, gully process, sources destructions, brook sedimentation, and others. For beyond of this relate of the environmental degradation, in the last years, there was an expressive advance of the monoculture of sugar cane on the region, especially in the rural settlements, where the factory owner, rent the land that is destined of the land reform with the connivance of the Estate of São Paulo Land Institute (ITESP). Such, the present project have like the main proposal, analyze the environment impacts caused for the planting of sugar cane in the rural ´s fixing of the Pontal of the Paranapanema. Identifying lineal and foliate erosive process, and the fertility conditions of the soils before and after the sugar cane planting. For this, will be realize field surveys and office work, identifying history aspects of the occupation of the region, the changes of the vegetal coverage and the soil uses, the relief forms, soil types and the climate conditions. Beyond that, we seek work with the concept of rural multi-functionality for these areas of rural settlements like an integrator between the social and physics aspects. (AU)